Life in today’s world is hurried, and the pressures put upon children to succeed can be tremendous. In many communities, it isn’t uncommon for parents to load their children’s schedules with extracurricular activities that they feel can enrich the children’s experience and knowledge. Unfortunately, what often becomes overlooked in this arrangement is the child’s need for free play. When there is no room in the day for playing, children suffer. According to a clinical report by the American Academy of Pediatrics, “play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth.” Play is so crucial to child development that the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights acknowledges play as every child’s right.
What is free play? In brief, it is the kind of play that is child-centered. It is initiated by children and guided by children. It doesn’t involve electronics or screens, isn’t scheduled, and isn’t organized or presided over by adults. Free play is play that just happens. It can be an individual kind of play devised by one child, or it can be a cooperative effort by multiple children. While adults may be invited to join in with children, the children themselves must be the ones who direct the activities. Free play can come in any shape or form, but parents who wish to help encourage it can provide children with tools to assist.
In the view of many parents, backyard swing sets are one of the most motivating tools children can use for free play. With a swing set, children are free to initiate and take part in creative play experiences, whether alone or with friends, and still be unobtrusively watched from indoors by mom or dad. Swing sets come in an endless variety of configurations, so finding one that offers the desired features is usually quite easy. Wood sets are most frequently chosen backyard use, but metal sets are available as well. The most basic swing sets come with a couple of swings and a trapeze bar or rings, but parents can also choose extra features. A club house, slide, and monkey bars are common additions that parents want for their children’s use. Other accessories can be added, of course, to meet the individual needs of the family. Some of the options that may be available include a sandbox, different types of swings, or a climbing apparatus. Pretend play can be encouraged with fun accessories such as a steering wheel, binoculars, or vinyl playhouse enclosure for an existing club house.
Children have incredible powers of creativity and can use free play time to strengthen their imaginative abilities. Swing sets are just one tool for free play that parents can provide to children, but they are a particularly appealing tool. Swing sets, in addition to encouraging imaginative free play, also encourage active play. On a swing set, children exercise their bodies and their minds, and this combination makes an important contribution toward developing the whole child.
All things considered, though, time is the most important tool that parents can provide their children to encourage free play. Allowing more time for children to engage in their own imaginative play will benefit their development far more extensively than a day filled with pre-scheduled, adult-organized activities ever could.
Trey Collier is owner of BackyardCity.com – Where North America shops for Outdoor Living essentials, including high quality Swing Sets and Accessories for many years of backyard fun.
