
On Saturday, the National Park Trust, in conjunction with Let’s Move!, will host the second annual National Kids to Parks Day, featuring unique events at parks across the country.
According to a news release from the National Park Trust, 61,000 individuals have pledged to play outdoors on this day and 228 mayors in 45 states have passed resolutions of support.
Grace Lee, the executive director of NPT, was quoted in the press release saying, “We want to encourage children across the country to explore their neighborhood parks and discover the history, nature and adventure right around the corner or just across town. The Summer season is the time to be outdoors and have fun.”
This wonderful initiative, which began last year, is aimed at improving park attendance and decreasing national obesity rates by calling citizens to local parks.
With recent research suggesting that 42 percent of Americans could be obese by 2030, it is now more important than ever to promote the benefits of outdoor play in our parks and playgrounds.
This annual day of events is a great way to showcase all that local parks have to offer citizens – including amazing, inspiring playgrounds for kids to exercise their bodies, minds, emotions and spirits. Conveniently, outdoor free play is also a solution to help decrease obesity. We join NPT in celebrating national parks, state parks, and local parks and playgrounds and hope to encourage more free play at parks for households across the nation.
At Voice of Play, we hope this campaign helps inspire more frequent outdoor play for families all year long and that, eventually, this spark of interest will soon lead to each and every day becoming a “Kids to Parks” day.
Learn more about the National Kids to Parks Day events happening in your area: http://www.kidstoparks.org/attend-an-event
Over the past few weeks, we discussed the physical and emotional benefits of play and the importance of a daily activity level in bringing out the best of each.. This week we shift our focus to the social benefits of play.
1. Group Interaction
When playing in groups, kids learn social roles and cultural rules, develop appropriate cooperation skills, and learn a shared system of symbols, including verbal and body language. When children develop and test relationships, they learn self-control, compromise and negotiation skills. Kids also learn survival skills, independence and acceptable group activities to build on as they grow up. Voice of Play
2. Connecting to Others
On the playground, children learn to interact and respond to other children, as well as strengthen and create friendships. “They will learn to be sensitive to other’s needs and perspectives when engaging in play, and thus learn to negotiate and compromise when their perspectives or needs are in conflict with those of their friends. Play will often require individuals to work together, and through this cooperation children will learn to share with others.” Indiana.edu Indiana University
3. Dealing With Conflicts in a Safe Place
“It is important to create an environment and social climate that protects children and allows them to play without fear. Because play is the way children learn about the world and how to deal with conflicts, they should feel secure and comfortable in their surroundings, and have opportunities to freely play in order to calm their fears and anxieties. Children develop best in the context of a caring community where they are safe and valued, their physical needs are met, and they feel psychologically secure.”
Kathleen Alfano, Ph.D.
Safety on the playground begins with the appropriate surfacing, proper equipment, professional installation and frequent inspection and maintenance. By following these guidelines and teaching our children good judgment on the playground, we can improve safety environments and reduce preventable injuries on our playgrounds every year.
Check out these tips for playground safety:
We hope you enjoyed the tips, resources and other morsels that have been shared across the virtual space this past week. Most of all, we hope that the attention brought to playground safety through this week will help incite busier and safer playgrounds across the country.