Why & How to Encourage a Child to Play Outside
The great outdoors get their name because they are just that: great! However, if your little ones require some extra coaxing to explore their backyard, we can help with that. These are our favorite tips to encourage a child to play outside. We’ve put our big-kid brains together to think up the most fun and the safest outside activities for kids to enjoy!
Continue reading to discover just how to encourage a child to play outside.
Safe & Fun Outside Activities for Kids to Enjoy
No doubt about it, outdoor play time is vital to the health, well being, and happiness of your family. Spending hours on end, parked on the couch smartphone in hand just isn’t a substitute.
The outside activities for kids you choose should be customized to appeal to your family specifically! When reading through our tips for how to encourage a child to play outside, keep in mind the interests your children already have:
- Have a picnic — What kid doesn’t love a good snack? Combine healthy eating with the great outdoors for one unforgettable outdoor activity you, your kids, and their friends can all enjoy together.
- Get a playground — Many of us parents grew up with a classic wooden swing set and LOVED the adventures it created. Today’s kids deserve to know that same sense of fun, but while having the modern safety features of a long lasting vinyl set! Add onto your custom set with sandboxes, rock walls, game panels, and more from Adventure World Play Sets!
- Use puppy dog eyes — Here’s one of our favorite 2 birds, 1 stone scenarios. If you have a dog, use them to appeal to your little one’s love to get them outside! Suggest your child throws a ball, chases, goes for a walk or plays with your pooch. Hands down this is one of the most satisfying outside activities for kids.
- Healthy competition — There’s nothing wrong with a little healthy competition, especially when it comes to encouraging a child to play outside. Think sports, scavenger hunts, bike races, obstacle courses, sidewalk-chalk drawing contests, and more. If your kiddos have copped a competitive edge, these are effective motivators. Get ideas for fun outdoor family games here!
- Encourage creativity — One of the things we love most about building children’s outdoor playsets is the versatility and creativity that can accompany them. For imaginative youngsters, a playset isn’t just a playset — it’s so much more. Adventure World play sets come with ample options to let the imagination grow. See some of our play equipment that kick starts the imagination.
- Bring the indoors, outdoors — For the children who are more calm, cool, and collected, perhaps a more reserved activity would be most enticing. Make the ordinary coloring, reading, snack time, or homework more exciting by giving them their own space to perform it outdoors! Our happy hideout playhouse is the perfect home base for all of these activities!
Language That Encourages Children to Play Outside
It’s easy to encourage your kids to play outside, especially with the right tools and the right wording. Save the bribes for bedtime, here’s a few strong sentences to encourage a child to play outside:
- “It’s ok to get wet, dirty and messy!”
- “Let’s invite your friend!”
- “Can you find me a from the backyard?”
- “I’ll come with you.”
Try a few of these sentences the next time you’re trying to get your little ones in the great outdoors!
Why Outdoor Activities Are So Important for Kids
As an increase in technology and screen time rises, a decrease in outdoor play time has also been trending. It’s important to go the extra mile in encouraging a child to play outside because of its many benefits on their emotional, physical, and mental health.
Below are just a few of the ways outside activities help children:
- Aerobic exercise
- Prevents obesity
- Improves sensory skills
- Sparks imagination & promotes creativity
- Boosts mental health
- Contributes to social & emotional development
- And much more
While outdoor play has fallen a bit out of fashion lately, we’re working to bring it back! Outdoor play is available for just about every kid — no matter where they live — so what is stopping your children from spending more time outdoors?
How to Encourage a Child to Play Outside Using Adventure World Play Sets
These are some of our favorite ideas of how to encourage a child to play outside. Parents and kids agree, playing outside is more fun with an Adventure World Play Set! While parents love the undoubting safety of our swing sets for sale, kids love the fun features and bright colors of them.
Our swing sets, playsets, sandboxes, rock walls, and hidden huts are experts at turning “digital kids” into outdoor fans! Start designing your custom set or enter your zip code to be connected to your nearest Adventure World Play Sets dealer!