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1.1- Analyse the benefits of outdoor play on children’s health, learning and development
Child initiated activities support the development of outdoor
1.1- Analyse the benefits of outdoor play on children’s health, learning and development
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30 minutes, that is how long the average American boy or girl spends in unstructured outdoor play each day, and more than 7 hours each day in front of an electronic. There are many reasons why children should play outside like, spending time outside raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues. Schools with environmental education programs score higher on standardized tests in math, reading, writing and listening. If children play outside, they will get exercise and be less likely to become obese, kids will have less health problems, and it reduces stress. In addition, if people play outside more often they will get exercise and be less likely to become obese. The average American boy or girl spends as little as 30 minutes in unstructured outdoor play each day, and more than seven hours each day in front of an electronic. Childhood obesity rates have more than doubled the last 20 years. Outdoor play increases fitness levels and builds active, healthy bodies, an important …show more content…
Spending time outside raises levels of Vitamin D, helping protect children from future bone problems, heart disease, diabetes and other health issues. Families are eating more processed, high-calorie foods due to their busy schedules which makes a family sit-down meal a rare event. These changes have led to an epidemic of childhood obesity, which presents serious health threats for children, including heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, and social and psychological problems. In the past decade, the benefits of connecting to nature have been well documented in numerous scientific research studies and publications. Collectively, this body of research shows that children’s social, psychological, academic and physical health is positively impacted when they have daily contact with nature. The more healthy you are, the less stress you'll
However, within the past few decades science has begun further exploring this concept. Research has proven there is a direct link between spending time in nature and improvements in mental and physical health. A 2013 study (Biel and Hanes, 2013) found that spending even just 20 minutes in a natural environment significantly reduced cortisol levels, a hormone linked to stress. Another mental health study, found elderly adults who engaged in outdoor activities were less prone to depression (Christensen, Holt, and Wilson, 2013). In terms of physical health, spending time outdoors has been proven to reduce blood pressure levels and lower heart rates (Richardson, 2013). The scientific research offers an explanation as to why Strayed, Thoreau, and Emerson had such positive mental health experiences after spending time in
With the expansion in technology, children are hastily becoming more and more inactive. In the past century, kids would play outside from sunrise to sunset. Little did they realize, that playtime served as great daily exercise. Physical activity is a key necessity in keeping a healthy lifestyle. With the advancement of technology and the growing popularity of video games and television, fewer children are getting exercise. Stationary activities, such as video games and watching T.V., are keeping children inside and away from exercise. To blame just the kids for this lack of exercise would be wrong. The parents are the ones responsible for giving the children these games, but that is not all bad. Where it does turn bad however, is when the kids are given these games or televisions without a time restraint. Through research, they have found that 26% of children watch television for more than four hours a day. In efforts to encourage outside playtime for kids, Nickelodeon shut down programming daily from noon to 3pm. This seemed to be a great idea, but does it really help? Children are in school session Monday through Friday from 8am 3pm. The time Nickelodeon chose to go dark is the same time child...
While this era has helped improve several aspects of the world, it has also harmed a significant element in today’s society. The emerging generations are losing their connections with the natural world. A few decades ago, kids would have fun by playing outside with each other. Nowadays, parents buy their children handheld devices to provide entertainment, and fail to see how harmful they can be to a child’s health. Children lose the idea of what it means to have fun, and rely on a material possession for what should be coming from natural means. Statistics have shown the results of a lack of physical activity in a growing child is detrimental to their adult lives. Being active and in touch with nature provides a healthy lifestyle, and should be added to everyone’s routine. Moreover, obesity is a dilemma within the United States, and is a concern for a large portion of the population. More than one-third of adults in the United States are considered obese. The causes for such a statistic can all lead to losing touch with nature. Whether it is processed foods, transportation, or technology, they all stem from the idea of separating from nature. The more progressive the world becomes, the farther the relationship with the environment decays. Creating food through unnatural processes are harmful in the long run. The nature of man is to be outside and live in harmony with the Earth.
Richard Louv, the author of, “Last Child in the Woods: Saving our children from nature deficit-disorder,” talks about nature and its benefits to a healthy development. Time Experiencing with nature allows people to have healthy development since it promotes creativity and imagination. It does not take more than a couple of steps outside to see nature. It is all around us. It can even be right outside our window. Leaving the blinds open can bring peace of mind, just by viewing it. As people experience time with nature, no matter the age, they develop greater creativity and imagination. It is like people today fear nature.
One of these benefits is being able to relieve stress. Some evidence Williams provides to support this is when she writes, “Those living on blocks with more trees showed a boost in heart and metabolic health equivalent to what one would experience from a $20,000 gain in income. Lower mortality and fewer stress hormones circulating in the blood have also been connected to living close to green space” (57). When Williams states this in her article, she demonstrates the positive effects that nature has on the mind just by being around it! An effect so great that it’s equivalent to a “20,000 gain in income”, which a majority of people would be ecstatic about. Whenever I volunteer at The Grotto, I always find it enjoyable compared to volunteering at my high school due to the fact that the Grotto is surrounded by a great deal of wildlife, while on the other hand, volunteering at Centennial High seems to be bland because of it’s stuffy, enclosed, environment. Not only does nature relieve stress on the mind, but it also calms it too. For instance, when Williams writes, “Officers there report calmer behavior in solitary confinement prisoners who exercise for 40 minutes several days a week in a “blue room” where nature videos are playing, compared with those who exercise in a gym without videos” (58). This illustrates how simply seeing nature can affect the human mind, keeping some of the most aggressive, vicious, people calm. Whenever I get angry or frustrated, whether it be a game or homework, I like to go to the Lynch Wood park and lay there, listening to music. This tends to calm me down and revive my focus so that I can work harder. With nature being able to revitalize the mind, it can also aid the body physically too. “In 2009” begins Williams, “a team of Dutch researchers found a lower incidence of 15 diseases—including depression, anxiety, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and
Many children become obese due to lack of exercise. Today’s generation of children enjoy television, video games, iPads, and laptops much more than what the earlier generations of children did. Electronics have taken the joy out of things, like going outside to run around and play. In her book Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, Jeffrey P. Koplan includes how to get children involved in others things besides electronics, “Encouraging children and youth to be physically active involves pr...
The feeling of stress is inevitable to avoid and remove entirely from our lives. As we go through life and our stress levels rise, for various reasons, resulting in the feeling of worry, anxiety, insomnia, etc. We search for strategies to assist with decreasing the feeling of stress or to better help cope with it. Coping is defined as “managing taxing circumstances, expending effort to solve life’s problems, and seeking to master or reduce stress” (p521). Individuals perform a wide range of different activities to help manage stress and decrease its effects such as working out at a gym regularly, attending routine social gatherings, and reading books. One stress reducer that our society often overlooks is nature and its benefits. There have been studies on forest bathing, which involves walking a forest trail or sitting on a boulder and observing nature with all five senses, that proves to minimize stress.
By now almost everyone has heard about child obesity in America, but just how high are the rates? The answer might surprise you. According to Nate Whitman, a writer for The Huffington Post, “rates of obesity have doubled in 2- to 5-year-olds, quadrupled in 6- to 11-year-olds, and tripled in 12- to 19-year-olds” (par. 2). This is due to more children staying inside and only doing activities such as video games. They do not interact with anyone besides whomever they are talking to online. These findings are astonishing to say the least. What can we do to combat this? Involvement in organized sports helps children develop their social skills, improve their academic progress, and stay active.
The reason for my chosen topic is because I am interested in finding out more about all the benefits of outdoor play and how it has an impact on the child’s physical and social development. I would also like to find out more about
Modern children's obesity is increasing all over the world, bringing potential problems for them when they become adults (Benefits par 1). Recent reports project that by 2030, half of all adults (115 million adults) in the United States will be obese (President’s par 3). Physical activity is an important part of a healthy lifestyle. To get started and stay active, make physical activity part of your daily routine, keep track of your progress, be active and safe, and talk. Physical activity benefits all parts of your body. Even little amounts of activity are good for your health. The more active you are, the more you will benefit. Physical activity will benefit you in anything you do in your life. Regular physical activity can help keep people’s thinking, learning, and judgment skills sharp as you age. It is something that everyone in the world needs to do more of to be the best that they can be. Without physical activity, we wouldn't feel or look very good at all. Physical activity is important because it increases communication skills, inspires kids to be different and move out of their comfort zone, and it creates a positive effect on organized sports and on today's health in society.
Childhood obesity poses a serious threat to the health of our nation, children these days have little to none outdoors activities. Lack of physical activity found to be a significant factor in contributing to childhood obesity. It is very probable that the only outdoors activity that children have now is a P.E. class at school if the school offers it. It doesn’t help that most schools in the United States have had physical activities and recess programs removed from the school. In the article Physical activity and childhood obesity: strategies and solutions for schools and parents the author states, “During active class time, physical educators can look to the teachable moment in which they can talk to an entire class concerning individual differences. Just as the teaching of good sportsmanship should be an essential component of all elementary physical education programs, the recognition of obese and overweight children should be taught so that children become sensitive to the thoughts and feelings of others”.
it provides different play and children can face new skills and challenges. outdoor play does not just mean the garden, it progresses further for example, the park, walks, shopping malls, day trips out and much more. it gives children the opportunity for healthy exercise and the opportunity to learn more about the world and nature. To begin with, children will have less restrictions than being indoors, they have more space as large scale play can be provided. It also allows children to be able to use all of their senses, sight, hearing, smells, and they can enjoy the sense of being free and not restricted indoors. Being outdoors means the play is often open ended and furthermore children can play in different types of weather. The outdoor play encourages children to use their imagination and be creative with the resources at hand. Outdoor play often goes well with indoor play as it provides different experiences, however it is also important to remember that after outdoor play there also needs to be quiet play/areas for
Most of us are aware that spending time in nature is good for us. Not so many, however, can say exactly why this is the case. Although understanding the exact reasons why the natural world can positively influence your general well-being isn’t going to increase the benefit, it might just inspire you to get out there and spend more time in our planet’s very own, natural quality-of-life-enhancer - nature itself. Below, we’ve listed five of these reasons in hope of doing just that…
Play gives the opportunities for children to develop both individual gross and fine muscle strength. Many people experiencing health problems from being overweight, we have a responsibility to encourage physical activity in young children.
In my opinion the outdoor area in any setting is often the childrens’ favourite place to be, as all the natural features engage children’s senses and provide opportunities for hands on learning. By letting children play with sticks, climb trees and roll around on the ground children develop physically and mentally. This is an area where there is often greater freedom and scope to investigate their surroundings and whilst there is exploration there is also very good opportunity to develop gross motor skills through physical activity. Such activities also spark their imaginations (Cooper, a