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Let's Have An Adventure!

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Al Rezoski

Aug 16, 2022

United Kingdom

Categories:

Children, Play, Mental Health, Resilience

The Guardian, a British newspaper, reports in an article dated May 20, 2022, on a research study that shows that children playing in playgrounds that are adventurous and have an element of risk can improve children's mental health.


A simple way to reduce anxiety and depression in children is to provide them with an opportunity to engage in adventurous play that involves some risks. Adventurous play includes climbing trees, jumping from high places, riding bicycles, and playing outside parent supervision.


Children build resilience by engaging in adventurous play, and the benefit is more significant for lower-income children. A professor of child psychology at the University of Exeter, Helen Dodd, led the study entitled Child's Play: Examining the Association Between Time Spent Playing and Child Mental Health.


This conclusion may seem odd and counter to prevailing parenting techniques, but not so. Adventure can spur a child's imagination, help hone problem-solving skills, and reinforce a sense of accomplishment and wellbeing. A playground designed for adventurous play can be safe too.


Are you a 'helicopter' parent? You know that parent. They are the one who monitors their child's every move, fretting and anxious over anticipated mistakes, forever telling them not to do this or that, physically redirecting their child's movements. Consider a different approach. For example, let your children play independently. Engage them in more adventurous play. Protect the natural areas around our community. Incredible adventures await there. Encourage naturalized playgrounds to be built. Get involved in the design of your community's playgrounds. Play should be a stimulating experience, not a stifled, controlled one. Think about how your child's play experience can be both mentally and physically challenging. We often dream of our children being business leaders, politicians, doctors, and lawyers, but do they have the resilience and creative brainpower these professions require? Adventuresome play can help your child build that mental framework. Help our children realize their full potential and grow into happy, well-adjusted adults.

Photo by Arthur Lugovoy on Unsplash.

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0722.103.01.081622

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