Three Reasons Why Your Kids Should Play Outside

3 Reasons Why Your Kids Should Play Outside
By Dorthy T. Weatherbush

Growing up as a kid, some of the most memorable moments of my life took place playing outside with friends. Long before computer games for 3-D virtual reality alternative worlds, my friends and I would run the streets with balls, sticks or slingshots in hand. There was no such thing as a Nintendo DS or a portable Mp3 player. Nope, we had each other and the great outdoors.

Today as I raise my own children I see a shift from wanting to go outside to remaining inside. Gone are the days when your children would come running into the house with a scrape or bruise. Now they come running because they have advanced carpal tunnel from playing video games or texting too much. Despite this shift, as a parent, you do have a say so in what activities in which your kids are involved and I suggest to you today that playing outside with others should be high on your list. Don't let sports like football, baseball and kickball become obsolete. Why you may ask, here are 3 clear reasons.

Better Social Skills This one seems obvious right but often many parents underestimate the power of this benefit. The more face to face time a child has with peers and other children of varying ages, the better able they are to relate to others in every other facet of life. They will respond to their siblings and you as parents in a much more mature way. Soon your kids will learn that it is not just about their ideas and their feelings but often times your personal agenda must compromise for the group's sake.

Better Physical Fitness Running jumping and playing is good for everyone but even more so for a growing child. As your child's muscles and organs begin to grow and develop, it is essential that they participate in physical activities to grow stronger, more flexible and coordinated. Recent studies have shown that there is a significant increase in the diagnoses of Type II Diabetes in children. Regular exercise can decrease the risk of this type of diagnoses by more than 35%.

Better Grades When reading an article about physical fitness, the last thing you expect to hear is that letting your kids play and have fun will positively affect their grades. In fact many people have been led to believe that the opposite is true. That is to say that if you force the child to study more than they play, the better they will do in school. This could not be further from the truth. When children are allowed to release their natural energy in a constructive way, it does two things. First, it increases blood and oxygen flow to the brain. Secondly, it allows them to focus without distraction on their studies because playing outside now becomes a reward they look forward to, even more than the video games.

As we move into the digital information age, let us not forget the lessons learned from our childhood. A little a sweat and blood will not hurt our children in the long run in fact, it will actually help.

Dorthy Weatherbush has children and has always emphasized the importance of playing outside and getting plenty of exercise. In fact, her oldest son rather enjoys riding his Nashbar bike. But she did make sure to get him a helmet for to go with his Nashbar bike just for safety purposes.