Page 7 - October 2025 Newsletter Flip

. You’ll want to get outside and play too!
Benefits of outdoor play on mental and cognitive development in children
Enhanced Cognitive Skills: Outdoor play involves problem-solving and decision-making. Some examples include building dens and forts, navigating different obstacles, or creating obstacle courses, all of which improve cognitive development and critical thinking.
Increased Creativity: Outdoor play encourages imaginative and creative thinking. In the freedom of open space, children enjoy adventures, play make-believe, and take in their surroundings. This a great way to foster your child's creativity, exploration and innovation.
Decision Making: Children need to be provided with opportunities to try out new things. This may involve children getting dirty, wet, or falling over. These experiences help to build children's confidence and is an important part of learning about skills and limitations. Everyday life involves a certain degree of risk and children need to learn how to cope with this from an early age.
Benefits of outdoor play for social and emotional well-being of children
Self-Confidence: The outdoors can create scenarios for your child to set goals and build skills. Achieving goals in outdoor play, such as climbing a tree, making a fort, fording a creek, or completing an obstacle course can boost a child's self-esteem.
Social Skills: Outdoor play involving interaction with peers, helps children develop social skills at an early age. They will be spending time with other children and learn how to cooperate, share, build empathy, and resolve conflicts, all of which are integral for early social and emotional development.
Emotional Regulation: Playing outdoors provides children with opportunities to experience a range of emotions, from excitement and joy to frustration and disappointment. Whether in sporting scenarios
or playing in nature, these experiences help them learn to regulate their emotions.