Sara S

Bigger Playing Environment For Kids by Sara S.

Jennie Finch once said, “I love being outside with my boys playing tag or trying to keep up with them.” Kids should be able to play in a bigger yard or environment. A bigger environment gives kids more freedom to play different games than the ones that they play in smaller environments. For example, bigger outdoor environments allow for things like volleyball or soccer. When kids have that freedom you will see what they can create with their imaginations.

Researchers have found that the more space you have to play in, the more freedom kids feel to play different games, and different games help take care of different parts of your body so you can stay healthy. The more freedom your children get, the more athletic they will get. The more athletic they get, the more that they want to keep playing outside because they want to get even more athletic (Alfono).

Children sometimes act like they are miserable because they have nothing to play when they're outside. That's why you should give them the freedom to play any game they want and not lower their expectations. When a child plays different games that they love, it could lead them on a path to their future. For example, if your child likes to play soccer and has all of the equipment that is needed, he or she might practice hard enough that he or she becomes really good, and might turn out to be even better in the future ("Make Way for Play").

When your child plays volleyball or soccer they can begin setting out for what they want to do later in life. Volleyball and soccer are both professional sports that people play, so maybe your child wants to be like those professional sports people on TV. They are both sports that you can play in your backyard that get you more active. When you are more active it helps a lot with your health and that is good if you want to grow up and wanting to be a professional ("National Physical Fitness and Sports Month").

Some people argue that when kids play in a bigger yard their parents can’t keep track of where their children are running off to. But, your child can play in any place if your yard is bigger. Then, parents don't have to make special boundaries for their children. If you put special boundaries for your child, what happens to the freedom of the backyard space? Without the child’s freedom he or she is just going to go back to being miserable because of all the special rules and boundaries.

If you don’t let your child have the freedom in the backyard that they deserve, they will just end up on the couch watching Youtube or playing video games and slowly turn into a couch potato.  If you let them turn into a couch potato, it might take awhile to get them active again. Children should be able to play in a bigger environments with freedom.