Outdoor play can provide many rich learning opportunities for young children. It can include places to explore, new experiences and can help in the development of many skills, including social and emotional development.
Social and emotional skills are something that begin developing as soon as your child is born. Social and emotional development supports children in making relationships and understanding their own sense of self. These skills encourage confidence and enable them to express themselves and their feelings in a healthy way.
Here are some play ideas that can support the development of social and emotional skills at the park. The park is a great (and free!) resource for young children.
Having a go at trying new activities can be a daunting task at times. Sometimes, a fear of failure can be off putting, especially when the first go didn’t quite go to plan!
The park is a great place for trying things over and over again. It is often a place that is visited regularly by young children, and some children even go there with different people. Encouraging your child to keep on trying when they fail is a good way of building up their resilience. [1]
Many children learn through observation, and the park is often a great place to do this. There can be many activities on the park that your child may not be quite ready for – this could be the climbing frame, the swings, or even having a spin on the roundabout. Enabling your children to watch others take part in these activities can offer them reassurance – seeing children laughing and having fun is likely to encourage this feeling!
By taking the time to stop, wait and observe activities, children will be more likely to know what to do when their time comes, and may even more confident. Don’t forget to offer praise to your child when they have conquered something that they may find tricky, or scary, as it will encourage them to keep on trying new things. [2]
Even after watching others, your child might still be scared – and that is completely normal. If your child gets worried, or even freezes whilst playing, remain as calm as you can. Reassure them that they are fine, and if they are still fearful, move them away, offer comfort and explain that you can try whenever they are ready to – there is no rush!
When visiting the park, it is unlikely that your child will be the only one there. The park is often somewhere that is busy, with multiple children wanting to play together, and share equipment. This makes it the perfect place for children to work on their social skills, and potentially even build friendships.
Turn taking is a big aspect of playing in the park. Children are likely to want to play on the same equipment at the same time, which can sometimes lead to conflict. To avoid this, help your child turn take – model to them how to take turns, and how to ask for their own turn.
As well as this, it is also a place where sharing and using resources together is involved in play. Your child might want to find a friend to sit on the see saw with them to avoid being stuck on the ground at a halt, or they might want to share the roundabout with someone. These are great opportunities for making friends.
A problem that some parents may encounter at the park is going home. Sometimes, children are having too much fun and can become distressed when it is time to leave. During your time at the park, remind your children about what the expectations are for the trip, and when you are going. For example, if you don’t have much time, tell them they are playing on three things today. Through your trip, remind your child and give them gentle pre-warnings, such as, “We need to go home for lunch soon, we are going to have five minutes on the swing and them go.” Keep these reminders so that going home is not a shock or surprise, such as “one more minute… now it is time to go”.
References
[1] Play Garden. (2018). Building Resilience through Play (Part 1). Available: https://www.playgardens.co.uk/building-resilience-through-play/.
[2] raisingchildren.net.au. (2021). Self-esteem in children. Available: https://raisingchildren.net.au/toddlers/behaviour/understanding-behaviour/about-self-esteem.