Many experts fear, too, that its loss will come at a cost.
“Kids need nature, they need unstructured time, and they need play.
Nature has real, physiological benefits for people of all ages.
Physical activity is critical in brain development.
“And especially with younger kids, their brains grow and develop through movement.
Kids need to learn to prioritize downtime.
We alladults and kidsneed unstructured time to unwind and recharge.
It’s what helps us perform better when we come back to school or work.
And in adults, weknow burnout is realand happens when we don’t take enough breaks to regroup.
Well, kids need to learn this lesson too.
And as Beurkens notes, she sees this issue bubbling up with the kids she regularly works with.
Adventures let them learn creative thinking and problem-solving.
“This helps kids develop higher thinking skills and understand the world around them,” says Beurkens.
It’s especially important to do this while your kids are young, while the stakes are low.
One of the best ways to develop problem-solving skills, too, is making mistakes.
The way we learn how to do something right is by doing it wrong a few times first.
Play shows them boundaries and self-regulation.
Kids are supposed to jump on and off things, run around, and roughhouse.
They’ll be much better off if they learn about what is safe through thought-out risks.
“The kids who know how to self-regulate know when to stop before they hurt someone.”
Independence makes them confident.
And this confidence, teacher andauthorEsther Wojcicki,once told us, comes from earning and having your trust.
“And then all of a sudden they show you trust in return?
It changes the view of yourselfall of a sudden you’re free to believe in yourself.”
It also, says Pressman, comes from the play itself.
“You cannot promote confidence without letting kids take risks,” says Pressman.
