SAY YES TO THE PLAYGROUND
Why do Children Love to Swing?
Swinging stimulates different parts of a child’s brain. It helps to develop spatial awareness, balance, rhythm and muscle control. A quiet moment on a swing can help a child to regulate their sensory system which helps them develop the ability to adapt to different situations.
Children develop in particular patterns. For example, most children must be able to sit up by themselves before they can crawl and eventually walk. The same is true for how tamariki develop their handwriting skills. Tearing, cutting and scribbling occur long before a child is able to write. The little muscles (fine motor muscles) in their hands must develop before they are able to grasp a pencil and then control that pencil to make intentional marks.
As soon as children arrive at a playground, they head directly for the swings, slides and various climbing structures.
Similar to learning to scribble before being able to write their name, children need lots of unstructured playground time to benefit their developing brain. When a child is active at the playground, oxygen is being sent to their muscles. Endorphins are also being produced which have a positive effect on mood. The entire sensory system is engaged.
With so much technology consuming much of their day, children do not have as many opportunities to develop the vestibular (balance), tactile (touch) and proprioceptive (helping us move through space and move our bodies effectively) areas of their brain. Time on the playground swinging, climbing and sliding allows these important systems to develop.
It is almost impossible to teach a child how to swing. Through lots of practice and the motion of moving back and forth, they work out how to make the swing move. An area of development we don’t really think about too much is our sensory system. Our sensory system is how our brain is organized and interprets information. This is the system that allows us to regulate our bodies when the environment is loud, quiet, has a strange smell, etc. It allows us to cope in a variety of different situations.
Swinging is one of the best activities for young children to develop their sensory system.
When a child swings, they are developing their ability to adapt to different sensations. The classroom is unusually loud, the lunchroom is overly chaotic, the cleaning crew used a new cleaning product or the clock is ticking loudly. All of these can affect a child’s ability to learn. This is why it is so important for us to develop our sensory systems at a young age.
Even a simple playground gives a child the opportunity to exercise their body in a natural way.
Stretching, cardiovascular flow, flexibility and strength are all challenged and activated. Along with balance and co-ordination.
It is recommended that children have at least 30 minutes of active play twice a day.
Let’s say YES to the playground!
