How To Incorporate Playtime All the Time for Children

Children come into the world as innate curious explorers, with an ever growing need to understand the world around them. Exploration is an important part of learning and development in young kids. It is important to allow them the space to experience and figure things out independently. Children develop thought process and problem solving as well as through engaging with their surroundings. Whether that exploration happens at home, in their local community, or in a global environment, it is crucial for their growth and development. Let’s dive into the importance of encouraging kids to actively interact with, and immerse themselves in their surroundings, to foster cognitive, emotional, social, and environmental growth.

Implementing This Practice

Watching your child think through an obstacle or seeing the wonder in their eyes as they explore a new place will never be something you regret as a parent. This is easy to see with big new experiences such as family vacations or traveling somewhere new. But it is easy to forget that to young children, every day is full of new experiences as well. It is important to recognize the significance of encouraging playtime and exploration. Utilizing it all the time, not just during experiences that are new to you. One of the ways you can do this is by utilizing common items or structures found around your home. You can also look for things in the local community to engage children in their surroundings.

An easy way to start intentionally doing this is by asking your child what they see. Then give them the time to respond. This encourages them to take in the world and to communicate what they are discovering. Often, we find by giving our children time to respond they will come back with discoveries we didn’t even notice. This then leads to some beautiful conversations and discoveries. The world is filled with sensory stimulation and learning opportunities for children that we as parents often overlook.

Finding the Balance

Unfortunately, all too often adults tell children how to play or correct them when they play with something in a different way than the standard “right” way. This stops children from exploring creative possibilities. They look to an adult to tell them how to play as opposed to them thinking it through and discovering it for themselves. For example, if they place a lid to a cup on top of their head as a hat. You then celebrate their imagination instead of telling them that is not what it is for. Or, instead of taking the lid and putting it on the cup, you can try giving them any empty cup and allow them to work out how to do it themselves.

These small opportunities allow our kids to develop their problem solving and critical thinking skills. Through the process of trial and error coupled with their own imagination they will find a solution. One of the best ways your child learns is through repetition. By turning as many small daily tasks into learning opportunities as possible, you can greatly increase children’s development. 

Showing children new things is also a great way to help them learn about the world around them. This is done through enhanced brain development from developing new neural connections, promoting thought processes, and increasing perceptions along with the ability to process information. For instance, taking your child or children out on a walk provides the opportunity to interact with nature and shows them an array of textures, colors, and sounds. This not only stimulates their senses, but it also aids in nurturing their cognitive abilities. Next time you go for a walk think about it through the eyes of your child and engage with them in being present to all of your surroundings. 

While we often have the best of intentions to always do these things in everyday life. It is sometimes easier said than done. Here, we are all about finding the balance in parenting and using these practices to help guide us as parents. It is okay to take moments away from being fully engaged.

As much as we would love to say that we use these practices every second of the day, that is not practical and would be very draining. Find a healthy balance that works for you and your family. Then use these practices as you can with your kids. If you need to use a walk as a quiet time so you can take a mental break and drink a cup of coffee, because it is the only time during the day that you have a moment to relax, then do it. Don’t beat yourself up over it.

Here Are Some of The Ways and Practices That Worked for Us and Our Family:

First, when we go camping, we try to limit the number of toys we bring. This is because we want our children to use their imagination and creativity to play with the things around them. A stick can become a sword, a leaf can become a hat, and a log can become a fort. Kids’ minds are amazing, and they will find a way to play if given the opportunity.

Here are some of the benefits:

• It encourages them to be more creative and use their imagination.
• It helps them to appreciate the natural world around them.
• It can help them to develop problem-solving skills.
• It can help them to learn how to share and take turns.
• It can create stronger bonds with their siblings and friends.

Next time you go camping, try packing light on the toys. Then see how much fun your children have playing with the things around them! 

Another opportunity we take advantage of is when eating out. One of our favorite local restaurants to take the kids to has many pictures and taxidermy up on the walls. We continually used them to spark conversations about the animals. We utilized them to help reinforce making animal sounds and recognizing what animals make each noise. As well as finding the animal to reinforce their recognition skills. While we are eating dinner, we can ask them where the bear or other animals are. Then wait for them to look around and locate the bear. Then we ask what sound a bear makes, and we will hear them rawwwer. This has always been a favorite game of ours and our kids.

We cannot speak enough to the value that comes from children exploring and engaging with their surroundings. 

One of the best ways to encourage imagination is to show children when you use ours. We get Amazon deliveries every month. After unpacking the boxes, we use them to build a fort or a tunnel or a giant coloring area, etc. The kids love this, and they get so excited to see what we can make each month. As they have grown and started to talk more, we like to ask them what they want to build. This now only allows for them to decide but encourages them to be creative. It also expands our ability as parents to problem solving skills and create the designs our kids come up with. 

Take Away Thoughts

It is our duty as parents to encourage our kids to be curious, ask questions, seek answers, and explore the world around them. This is because exploration and engagement help children to learn and grow. As they learn about the world around them, they also learn about themselves. They develop their problem-solving skills, their creativity, and their imagination. They also learn how to interact with others and how to take risks. All of these are essential skills that will help them succeed in life.

To recap here are some of the benefits of children exploring and engaging with their surroundings:

• They learn about the world around them.
• They develop their problem-solving skills.
• They become more creative.
• They develop their imagination.
• They learn how to interact with others.
• They learn how to take risks.

As parents, we should encourage our children to explore and engage with their surroundings. We can do this by providing them with opportunities to explore, by answering their questions, and by supporting their curiosity.