Outdoor play helps children learn skills, develop physical strength, and benefits mental well-being. Time outdoors can also provide an opportunity to make friends. Outdoor play comes in many forms. It could involve spending time in a backyard, a local park, or more rural spaces, such as forests and national parks.

Children love to play in yards or open playgrounds, as well as natural environments, like the beach or a forest. Outdoor play might revolve around simple physical games that benefit children’s health and muscle development, like climbing or chasing.

Outdoor play enables the infectious agents to spread out and be dissipated; it also enables children to get fresh air and exercise and be less constrained than they are in the classroom (Aronson, 2002). Outdoor play also enables children to enjoy the natural environment and learn to seek out exercise, fresh air, and activity.

Outdoor play helps your child develop essential physical skills and abilities such as gross motor skills, and the vestibular sense. Outdoor play also helps with social-emotional learning and building essential life skills such as problem-solving, resilience, and social skills.