0 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.

Most people can still remember their first childhood games and how they competed with their peers to win the sack race or to throw a ball the furthest. The skills they acquired while merely participating in the playground games at school, unknowingly equipped them with very important values and moral lessons for life. Apart from the physical benefits such as fitness, muscle development and coordination, group activities help build character and promote healthy social skills.

Ballgames, rope skipping, sack races and other fun games not only keep a child fit and healthy, but are also essential for strengthening their muscles and to promote good eye-hand coordination. At the same time, it teaches them to interact socially with all kinds of people. They develop friendships and camaraderie with team mates and learn essential leadership and social skills in a playful way. Group activities also teach kids to respect one another and it gives them a sense of belonging.

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.

It is therefore imperative that preschool kids are never left alone to fend for themselves on a playground. They need to be consistently supervised and occupied with innovative and original games to keep their attention and interest. Many of these group activities are focused on preparing them for formal sport codes. By using a variety of educational equipment such as balls, hoops, ropes and bats, they learn the basic skills of many official sport codes while they are having fun. The physical benefits of these games are innumerable. It helps to keep them fit and healthy, develop good muscle tone and balance, as well as improve their eye-hand coordination.

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 benefits of healthy, outdoor activities and team sport can never be stressed enough - especially for growing kids. It equips them with social, physical and mental skills that will stand them in good stead for life. Team sport promotes responsibility, tenacity, team spirit, leadership qualities and even the ability to handle life's disappointments. And it all starts with playground games.

The physical, social and mental advantages of healthy playground games should never be underestimated, as it lays the foundation for a happy, balanced and well-adjusted individual.




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