Why is Playing Important for Kids?
Physical activities help children in several ways. It is an activity that helps children enjoy without having any serious purpose. That is why parents often scold children for playing too much. As playing is a spontaneous and stress-free activity, children become less conscious about themselves while playing. Whether a child plays alone in her room or with other kids her age, playing is an activity that makes her more receptive and creative.
However, most people think playing is just a pastime. But nobody seems to understand its various physical, psychological and emotional benefits on children’s minds. Here, we will discuss the top 10 benefits of playing to help you understand the importance of play in children.
Why Should We Play?
We have already discussed above about why should we play briefly. Playing is an activity that lets children explore and express themselves without any limitations. But what do the scientists think about this?
According to research, playing is equally beneficial for animals and humans. Some scientists say that a bear can live a long and healthy life if it indulges in playing in its childhood. Similarly, a child can show many positive behaviours and quality of life if the child spends time in mindless playing during childhood. The benefits of playing are as follows.
To discuss the importance of play, the first thing that comes to mind is the physical development of a child. Playing contributes a lot to developing a child’s healthy and robust body. It builds muscle strength and helps the body prevent several health issues like diabetes, cholesterol, obesity, etc. Playing regularly is essential for adults too because it improves lung and heart function.
One of the most important purposes of playing is to build a sense of belonging and integrity. We all know that man is a social animal. So, every human being feels the need to converse with someone. Playing builds a friendship between children as well as adults that promotes emotional skills. It helps adults and children to build communicative skills and manage stress.
A child can play alone or in a group. While both are beneficial, playing in a group goes a little further by developing cooperation capability in a child. They gain the necessary knowledge about how to help or cooperate with others. It builds a sense of purpose among children, which allows them to work to achieve a goal while staying in the group. This is the most notable importance of play in child development.
Children do not understand strict rules and regulations very well. They forget their troubles, and as a result, they unleash themselves to enjoy the time with friends. The change in kids’ behaviour is visible if they get just 30 minutes of recess during the entire school time. You can see them coming back to the classroom, happy and smiling.
Playing helps kids to stay active. Research shows that the kids who engage in physical activities are more likely to remain active when they grow up. On the other hand, children who spend more time playing video games and watching TV tend to be idle and unproductive. The points we have mentioned show the importance of play in children and how beneficial playing is for adults too.
Top 10 Benefits of Play
Benefits of play
Besides being just a pastime, playing has several social, mental, physical and emotional benefits. The importance of play in child development is very crucial. The benefits we have mentioned below are enough to tell you why should we play and why we should not stop our children from playing at least once in the whole day.
Benefits of Playing Indoor Games
Indoor games improve the social skills of children. When kids play with a family member, they get to build communication skills, which helps them build a strong relationship with others.
Though outdoor games are very good for children's physical fitness, indoor games are very effective as well. Whether kids play bowling at home or any other game, physical activities help them to strengthen their muscles. This keeps kids away from childhood diabetes, obesity, etc.
Like outdoor games, indoor games are very effective for building creativity. These help kids to develop their creativity and learn about new things. Kids get to communicate with their friends and family members, solve new problems, and explore new ideas.
By playing indoor games, kids’ motor skills get improved. Since they jump, crawl, and talk to each other, they get to improve their physical and mental strength.
When kids play indoor games, they usually search for new ideas and invent new methods of playing, which helps them think with clarity.
Indoor games bring new experiences to children’s lives. They play hide and seek, board games, etc. These games make them capable of solving new problems and resolving conflicts wisely.
Benefits of Playing Outdoor Games
Benefits of play for kids
The greatest importance of play in children is that it helps build a child’s motor skills. As we all know, any outdoor game requires a lot of jumping, running, crawling, etc. While playing football or cricket, they throw balls and catch them. It helps to flex their hands and legs. Climbing trees and crawling under the bushes strengthen their body muscles and help them become confident.
The importance of play in child development is noticeable if you look at its social benefits. If kids stay at home most of the time, they do not get enough time to converse with other kids or siblings. This can be one of the reasons for them not being able to open up. However, you can see openness in their personalities if they play with others and make friends. As a result, they become more open to their parents, teachers and friends.
A study shows that 87% of people who spent their time playing outside in childhood became more fond of nature than those who did not. It has a simple reason. Playing outside builds an appreciation for the environment as they spend a lot of their time in gardens and open air. It is one of the most important benefits of playing outdoor games.
Playing helps kids to have intellectual development. Besides developing body muscles and communication skills, playing also contributes to developing a child’s brain. When a kid goes outside to play, they usually invent new games once in a while, solve their problems and make their own decisions. These help them to improve their thinking capability. These are some of the benefits of playing outdoor games, which also show the importance of play in one’s life. These are the top 10 benefits of games.
Conclusion
Playing is an activity that has a lot to do with personality development for kids. Besides building social skills, playing improves a child’s physical and mental health and works on his emotional and intellectual capability. Playing with your kids for an hour or letting them make friends in the locality always improves their health, making them active, strong and productive.
