Why Maplewood Country Day Camp Encourages Childhood Fitness

Many children spend all day in front of a television or playing with an electronic device. The importance of outdoor play cannot be overlooked. Children need the physical and mental stimulation of being outside.

When Chelsea residents are looking for summer opportunities for their children, camps like Maplewood Country Day Camp are an important resource. At summer camp, children can explore the world of the outdoors with friends. They can participate in sports and activities that promote physical health and social development.

Physicians recommend that children have one hour per day of active play. This helps to reduce the chance of obesity and other health disorders. It can be challenging for children who live in urban environments like Chelsea to get enough time in the outdoors.

Visiting a park or playground is a good way to encourage outdoor activity. Signing children up for day camp activities in the summer or during the school year is the perfect way to help them experience the social, physical, and emotional development that outdoor play promotes.

Here are the primary reasons why outdoor play is crucial for children’s development.

Exercise

Outdoor play helps to encourage large and small motor skills. This will help them in many other areas of life. Different sports encourage specific motor skill development. For example, baseball encourages children to sprint, throw, and catch. Hand-eye coordination is needed to swing at a baseball. Catching the ball and throwing it to the right player is another feat of hand-eye coordination. Soccer teaches kicking and running skills as well as hand-eye coordination.

Swimming is a special case. It is an excellent full-body exercise and it also teaches children an important life skill to prevent accidental drowning.

Outdoor play also helps to build cardiovascular endurance. Heart health is important even for the very young. They will build the stamina they need to keep up with their peers and take part in any number of fun activities. Playgrounds encourage children to build motor skills through fun activities like climbing, sliding, and swinging.

The obesity epidemic in America has reached young children in Chelsea as well as adults. Exercise and a proper diet are key in preventing this problem.

Love of the Outdoors

Playing outside fosters a love of the outdoors. Children can take this through life. They will appreciate the outside world, plants, and animals more than children who do not play outside. They will become stewards of the environment and spread their love of the outdoors to other people.

Fresh air is essential to good health. Sunshine is another reason to be outside. Too often, parents do not let their children go out in the sun. Sunshine encourages Vitamin D production in the body. Vitamin D is good for heart and bone development as well as preventing seasonal depression.

Social and Emotional Development

When children have active playtime outdoors, they experience new ways of interacting with their peers. Interacting with friends can be as important as getting out in nature. Sports and games have shared rules that need to be followed for everyone to have a good time. Children learn to deal with the emotions that come with winning and losing, as well as learning good sportsmanship.

Playing Outdoors Enriches Children’s Lives

Children need outdoor play to grow up healthy and strong. Physical, emotional, and social benefits make this an easy choice for today’s busy parents. It can be challenging to find a safe place to play outdoors when living in an urban area like Chelsea. Parents are encouraged to find day camps like Maplewood Country Day Camp to help them foster their children’s love of the outdoors.