Welcome to the Holistic Wellness Center of the Carolinas – Research Based Functional Wellness

704.308.2557

Want healthier children? Send them outside to play

CLICK HERE FOR A FREE CALL

American children are busier than ever. Between tutoring, over-scheduled after-school activities, and the addictive lure of video games and smart phones, children spend half as much time playing outside than their parents did. Kids today play outside an average of a dismal 4 hours a week, compared to 8 hours when their parents were children. Sadly, lack of play time robs children of important developmental and health benefits. Humans are actually designed to grow based on plenty of play time (adults too!).

Two of the most important ingredients for beneficial childhood play are the outdoors and boredom. Though it can feel temporarily nightmarish to the child, boredom is great for the developing child brain — it forces children to employ their own agency, creativity, and, if other children are present, collaboration.

Why play is vital to childhood development

Free play develops social, emotional, and academic foundations that will server children later in life. It improves emotional intelligence and the ability to self-regulate. It also helps children learn about themselves, what they’re good at, and what they like to do.

Some industry experts argue that the qualities developed through free play will be what gives those children an edge in a world increasingly dominated by artificial intelligence and robots. Free play encourages compassion, creativity, complexity, and dexterity — skills that will always set humans apart from robots.

Also, health experts argue that lack of sufficient free play is contributing to the explosion of depression and other mental disorders in children. Depression is rising fastest among teens and young adults. Free play develops self-directed life-coping skills in kids that they don’t get in a violin lesson or soccer practice.

For children to fully enjoy the developmental aspects of free play, there is one thing parents must do: stay out of it. “Successful” childhood play is self-motivated by the child, as well as fun, engaging, and free of the normal rules of life.

Several categories of healthy child’s play have been identified:

Imaginative play. This includes drawing, painting, sculpting, and playing with water. Imaginative play is necessary to develop creativity, self-expression, communication, and experimentation with reality.

Building. Kids love to build stuff out of whatever materials available, whether it’s Legos, rocks, or sticks. Building play develops fine motor skills, reasoning skills, resilience (because these structures always collapse), and problem-solving.

Physical play. This is the kind of play that makes harried moms send their kids outdoors in order to protect the furniture. Rough housing, wrestling, play fighting, and other forms of physical play develop gross motor skills, physical fitness, perseverance, and memory.

Dramatic play. Some of the most engrossing forms of childhood play are the elaborate dramas, play acting, dress up, and shows that kids create. This form of play develops emotional regulation, relationship skills, empathy, cooperation, and negotiation.

Nature: A vital ingredient to childhood play

In addition to allowing children the space to transition through boredom into play, the outdoors is another vital ingredient to healthy childhood play.

Between addictive digital lures, overscheduled afterschool activities, and helicopter parenting, children today spend less time outdoors than do maximum security prisoners. This is tragic.

Harvard Medical School has identified these reasons children need to spend ample time outdoors:

Sunshine. Regular exposure to sunshine is necessary for human health to regulate the sleep-wake cycle and hormonal system, prevent mood disorders, and promote healthy immune function and bone growth.

Exercise. Children should exercise an hour a day. Free play outdoors better encourages this.

Healthy risk taking. Taking risks is an important part of free play, despite parental fear. Healthy risk taking during outdoor play helps children build good life skills and confidence.

Socialization. Socialization is one of the most important factors in good health. Letting kids play outside gives them the opportunity to meet other kids and develop social skills.

Appreciation of nature. Many studies point to the health benefits of time spent in nature. Letting children have unstructured play time among trees, dirt, streams, and other natural features instills a lifelong appreciation of nature.

It used to be parents sent their kids outside to play to get them out of their hair. These days, parents must contend with pushback from kids who would rather play video games or do other online activities indoors. Parents too must unplug long enough to enforce some digital-free outdoors play time — in all kinds of weather. Kids act like boredom is going to kill them, but if you let them see it through chances are they’ll eventually engage their innate resources for unstructured play.

Meet the Author

Dr. Matz DC

Dr. Jeffrey E. Matz, DC, MS, is a Board Certified Chiropractic Physician. He is licensed to practice in SC, NC, and GA. Dr. Matz is passionate about functional medicine and strives to help patients achieve optimal health. His focus is on helping our members with hormone imbalances, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain conditions, and diabetes. Among the thousands of people Dr. Matz has treated include Carolina Panthers football players, PGA Tour and Champions Tour golfers, collegiate athletes, and local and international celebrities. Dr. Matz was a semiprofessional cyclist, and has competed in triathlons for the last 7 years, including completing an IRONMAN triathlon.

Latest from the Blog

Breaking Through Cancer Barriers: News Outlets Spotlight High-Dose Vitamin C Therapy

https://www.yahoo.com/news/pancreatic-cancer-patient-survival-doubled-152722177.html Harnessing the Power of High-Dose Vitamin C in Cancer Treatment Recent advances in cancer treatment research have brought renewed attention to high-dose intravenous (IV) vitamin C, particularly in extending survival rates for patients with advanced different forms of cancer. A groundbreaking phase 2 clinical trial Study Finds demonstrated that combining high-dose IV vitamin C […] Read more

Latest from the Blog

The Dirty Dozen

The “Dirty Dozen” is a list of fruits and vegetables, compiled by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), that you should always eat organically. These produce items are not only delicious and nutrient-rich but also tend to carry high levels of pesticide residues when grown conventionally. By opting for organic versions, you can significantly reduce your […] Read more

WATCH OUR WEBINAR

Prospective clinic members can attend a life-changing educational talk to learn more about our holistic approach to healthcare.

SIGN UP NOW »

Holistic Wellness Center of the Carolinas
Holistic Wellness Center - charlotte hormone imbalance treatment