Nature is good for everyone, but especially children. In this guide, we’re focusing on what spending more time in the great outdoors could mean for your child’s development.
Spending time outdoors helps support children’s knowledge and skills across multiple areas of learning and development. That’s according to a briefing paper published by Ofsted, which looked at education recovery in early years in 2022.
They found that children were displaying a number of delays in their development as a result of the lockdown restrictions during the pandemic.
This included:
Poor physical skills
In particular, gross motor skills and movement, balance and coordination were highlighted as skills that were lacking.
Problems with mental wellbeing
Often, this manifested as anxiety, lack of confidence and challenging behaviours.
How can time spent outdoors help children?
Spending time outdoors allows children to grow their self-confidence, independence and resilience.
More likely to try new activities
There are so many activities that can be enjoyed exclusively outdoors. By encouraging children to engage with nature from an early age, you’re opening up a world of possibilities. Hiking, wild swimming, cycling – these are all healthy pursuits that you might just inspire your child to enjoy later in life.
Outdoor sports and fresh air helps them to stay healthy
Exercise and being in nature are all positive ways for children to spend their time. Burning off energy and moving around will help boost their concentration for classroom-based learning. It will also help them to sleep better and give their mental health a boost.
Improve motor skills
Motor skills and movement were cited as being negatively impacted by lockdown restrictions. By ensuring your children spend time outdoors both at home and during their time in early years education you can help get them back on track.
At Stars Day Nurseries, all of our nurseries and pre-schools offer outdoor spaces. We also arrange days out in the community. Get in touch to book a visit to one of our nurseries in Peterborough.
