There’s no such thing as bad weather? The practicalities of Outdoor Play
April is Outdoor Play Month at This Playful Home
I often think that attitudes towards playing outside depends entirely on your own experiences and cultural norms.
I grew up in the UK with predictable changes in season. Snow was rare enough to be a novelty and rain was frequent enough to require an umbrella at all times during Spring (especially when I lived in Swansea, a city which held the dubious accolade of Britain’s wettest city for a number of years).
When I moved to Canberra, Australia over 10 years ago, I became so accustomed to the warmer climate that I started to think of 25c (77f) as cold. In the UK, that is barbecue weather!
Whilst living in Austria, I got used to kitting the children out in coveralls and snow boots during the winter months so they could still play outside.
I’m sure that I’m showing my Britishness by talking about the weather so much. My point is, I’ve found that my attitudes towards weather have adapted each time we’ve moved countries.
I recently re-listened to ‘There's No Such Thing as Bad Weather: A Scandinavian Mom's Secrets for Raising Healthy, Resilient, and Confident Kids’ by Linda Åkeson McGurk and I’m fascinated by the differences between US and Scandinavian countries when it comes to spending time outdoors.
In newsletter 3 of the Outdoor Play series, we are going to be talking about attitudes towards weather and how we can adapt our outdoor play approach to the seasons.
What You’ll Learn in this article:
5 reasons why outdoor play is important, a reminder
How long your child should spend outside each day
6 ways to make outdoor play easier, no matter the weather
Adjusting your family rhythm for the season
How to reframe your attitude towards outdoor play
Dressing your child for the weather
A reminder: 5 Reasons Why Your Child Needs Outdoor Play No Matter The Weather*
In the first masterclass, we talked about the importance of outdoor play. Unfortunately, it doesn’t simply count in the warmer months. Your child also needs outdoor play when it’s cold too.
Is it harder to get outside when it’s cold? Yes of course!
Is it frustrating when you have to bundle your child up in millions of layers? It sure can be!
The truth is, there’s always a reason not to go outside. But unless the weather is extreme (e.g. storms or heatwaves), there’s always a way to spend a little time outside each day.
Getting outdoors Boosts your Mood: According to research conducted by Cambridge Health Alliance getting outside regularly into nature helps to reduce anxiety, stress and depression. It also has memory enhancing effects. This is not only great for your children, but you too.
Getting Outdoors Helps Kids engage in imaginative, independent play: with the natural world at their fingertips, it’s so much easier to play creatively without the distractions of TV and screen time.
Getting Outdoors is a fantastic ‘circuit breaker’ for when the kids are going crazy: tired of your child jumping off the couch and running indoors? It’s quite likely that they aren’t getting enough time outside. Running, jumping, climbing and playing outdoors will help your child calm down when they are indoors.
Getting Outdoors Helps keep children fit and healthy: Young children don’t really need after school sports clubs to keep fit – they just need time to play outside and explore what their body can do. It has also been found that outdoor time (even in winter) can help reduce illnesses. According to Harvard Health Online, it’s actually the indoors that makes children more likely to catch viruses. Outdoor time also means increased exposure to Vitamin D and melatonin which helps boost the immune system.
Getting Outdoors is Great for the brain: spending all day inside doing schoolwork isn’t actually good for children – they need to spend time outdoors exercising and playing as it helps the brain form connections between neurons. This helps children to concentrate when they are learning.
So We’re Agreed That Outdoor Play Is Crucial But How Long Should Children Be Spending Outside Each Day?
This might sound unbelievable but three quarters of children in the UK spend less time outside than prison inmates! As playtimes in schools decrease and parents have become busier (and worried about safety) outdoor play time has dwindled.