The Playground Games Prepare Kids For Life

By Mattie MacDonald


Fun and games on the playground has much more to it than meets they eye. This is the place where young kids learn for the first time how to interact in a group and develop a team attitude.

A love of team sport is usually acquired at a young age during preschool activities when kids are also introduced to the basics of most sport codes. The bonus is that partaking in the playground games at school teach them much more than just good sportsmanship and sport techniques. Group activities also promote mental and physical well-being and equip a child with essential social skills for life.

Outdoor group activities such as running, jumping, skipping and kicking balls on the playground are children's first introduction to team work and social interaction - albeit in a informal, playful manner. This is where they learn to share, to care and that the world does not revolve only around them. Kids don't tolerate unfair, selfish behavior and will quickly reprimand a playmate who does not follow the rules or behaves unacceptably. In an electronic era where kids suffer increasingly from health problems due to obesity, isolation and inactivity, nothing beats team sports to keep a healthy balance.

It is said that kids can be the cruelest of cruel to their peers because they are too young to understand how damaging and lasting the impact of their words/behavior can be. A victim of such cruelty often suffers lifelong emotional problems as a result of traumatic childhood experiences. Any playground games and activities should therefore be closely supervised by knowledgeable and trained teachers or coaches who can skillfully intervene to turn potential playground fights into a positive moral lesson.

Especially young kids under the age of 4 should never be allowed to play in groups without proper supervision. Team activities differ from school to school and place to place, but most kids' first experience of playground games include fun activities with basic equipment such as ropes, balls and bats to improve their balance, eye-hand coordination, as well as their muscle development. These fun games also lay the groundwork for more advanced team sports to follow in future years, by teaching them from start the proper techniques of how to catch, kick and throw a ball, hold a bat or racket or how to bowl. Experience builds confidence and a child with a healthy self-esteem is seldom shy or depressed.

Group activities and team sport also help to combat social and health problems such as obesity, depression and poor academic performance. Happy, balanced children love to play in groups. Evidence is growing that physical activity and team sport might even increase a child's numeracy and literacy adeptness.

The social, physical and mental benefits of group activities and team sport are innumerable. Apart from keeping a child active, fit and healthy, it promotes values and valuable social skills such as good team spirit, responsibility, problem solving, patience and perseverance. They learn there is no I in the word team and winning is not everything. When a team loses, a child learns how to overcome failure and how to cope with disappointments in life.

The playground is the first place where kids learn in a group situation how to become healthy, happy and well-adjusted individuals.




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