When you think back on your childhood, do you remember the joy of going outside during schooltime? There was something magical about escaping the rules and standards of the classroom and running freely in the open space. Perhaps you made some of your best friends on the playground, working together to come up with fun games or challenging each other to run the furthest or swing the highest.
Recess is a key component of children’s overall health. It shapes who they are by fostering important physical, cognitive, and emotional development skills. Children learn about their bodies, understanding spatial awareness and knowing their own limits. They also meet and interact with peers on a different basis than they do while in a classroom setting. Kids learn the importance of sharing and collaborating so everyone can have fun.
Modern playgrounds are built to ensure that all children’s needs are met, nurturing a space for everyone to feel welcome and invited to play. Here are a few ways that modern play equipment supports health in elementary schools.
Physical Health Benefits
It goes without saying that there are numerous physical health benefits associated with time on the playground. Commercial playground equipment, such as swings and slides, fosters physical fitness. Children develop gross motor skills as they run from one structure to another, navigate through obstacle courses, and gain strength by jumping and climbing. These types of movements are essential to overall development, leading to stronger bones and muscles as well as improved cardiovascular health.
Additionally, children also pick up on fine motor skills during play. Digging a hole in the sandbox and making sandcastles requires fine motor skills, as does grasping rings on a climbing ladder or turning a knob on an interactive panel. Both gross and fine motor skills are needed for lifelong learning and well-being.
Core strength is another lifelong skill that is often first developed on the playground. Climbing to the top of a rope ladder requires children to focus on their deep core, engaging the abdominal muscles and strengthening the back muscles, too. They engage these same muscles on balance beams, while also testing their overall flexibility and balance.
Children today face a higher risk of being overweight or obese. Packaged foods, sugar-rich treats, and highly processed fast foods are tempting. Unfortunately, many of these foods are also less costly than nutrient-dense, wholesome options. This diet, along with increased screen time, keeps kids in a sedentary state, limiting their ability to burn off energy and excess calories. That’s why getting children out on the playground is so important to their overall health, as well as their mental and emotional health.
Mental and Emotional Health Benefits
Recess is a chance for elementary schoolers to reset their bodies and their minds. Having a mid-day break can be beneficial for enhancing attention, concentration, and memory. Just like adults, children need breaks throughout the day. Having the ability to sit still in a classroom and pay attention is challenging, which is why recess can be so good for little ones’ mental and emotional health.
Unstructured play time on the playground gives children the chance to run freely, play with others, and be creative. Some children may decide to come up with a magical pretend game, assigning roles to their classmates and acting out different scenarios. Others may challenge themselves by going on the bigger slide or tackling the daunting rope ladder. And some children may use the time to focus on themselves, turning to low-stimulation activities such as sandboxes or activity panels.
With each of these pursuits, children relieve stress and anxiety and take in the benefits of nature. No matter if the elementary school’s playground is near an enclosed parking lot or in the middle of a massive field, children reap the benefits of being outdoors. They’ll re-enter the classroom feeling energized and ready to take on the next part of their day. You may even see boosted cognitive function as children can fully focus on the tasks for the day, or problem-solve to find a solution to a math equation.
Social and Interpersonal Health Benefits
Lastly, modern playgrounds are also built to bring children together. On a playground, children are highly encouraged to communicate openly, invite others to play, and cooperate. They grasp the importance of teamwork, knowing that everyone must work together if they want to spin fast on the merry-go-round. They are also presented with real-world scenarios, learning how to negotiate through disagreements and work together to reach a common goal.
These types of social and interpersonal skills cannot be taught. Rather, they’re obtained over time. When a child recognizes that they can’t have the swing set for the full amount of recess time, they must learn to share with others. They develop a greater appreciation for the time they do have on the swings, while also being empathetic to other peers who want a turn as well.
Modern playgrounds are a place of connection for elementary-aged children to gather, play, and bond. Children from different classes may form friendships, which can last well beyond recess time. These lifelong connections are a direct outcome of the many health benefits that come with recess during the elementary school years.
