What’s the Big Deal with Outdoor Family Play?

Author: Laura Kalkwarf, Occupational Therapy Graduate Student, St. Catherine University

Outdoor family play can be play that isn’t organized or structured by grownups, or have a specific goal in mind, or structured (with goals, rules, etc.).  This type of play encourages children to come up with their own rules, games and stories, which helps to build their imagination, hone their creativity, and amuse themselves.  You don’t have to come up with new game ideas - reflect on games you enjoyed as a child.  Think about hopscotch, red light, green light, frisbee, catch, and creating obstacle courses.  When you play interactively with your child, you are teaching them empathy, reciprocity, sharing, problem-solving, perspective-taking, cooperation, and fostering feelings of connection and acceptance, and all of this is done through their primary occupation of play! 

There are physical, psychological, and social/emotional benefits of outdoor family play for children. As children learn these skills with family, they are more likely to participate in social interaction with peers through cooperative play, use more language (verbal or gestures), creativity, and less aggression.

Physical Benefits

The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children ages 5 - 17 get at least one hour of moderate to vigorous physical activity per day.  Moderate to vigorous activity means that their hearts beat faster, they breathe harder - think playing tag, running around, riding bikes while pedaling fast.   If 60 minutes feels like too much for you or your child on any given day, start with what you can do - even 10 minutes is beneficial!

Playing outside during daylight hours can raise children’s level of vitamin D, which supports bone health and plays a role in the immune system response. Additionally, playing with dirt increases exposure to healthy bacteria, parasites, and viruses that help to create a stronger immune system.  

Playing outside improves distance vision and the chance of developing nearsightedness is decreased.  This is due to children looking in all vision planes (up and down, right and left, and peripheral) when they are playing outside, rather than at something right in front of them.  Physical strength and stability also increase, especially when climbing and jumping are involved. 

Psychological Benefits

Regular exposure to natural light early in the morning sets the body's clock for a better and earlier night’s sleep.  In addition to the physical benefits of increasing vitamin D, increasing this vitamin may reduce the likelihood of depression. Outdoor play provides a safe place to calibrate risks and make decisions about where to take the play, what should happen next, and how to use items in new and varied ways.  When integrated with trusted adults, these play schemes promote resilience and creativity when things don’t go the way children expect and provide opportunities for them to adapt.  

Social/Emotional Benefits

When children spend time outdoors, their stress hormone levels have been shown to decrease and they are better able to cope with big emotions.  Time in nature has even been shown to help those with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by increasing focus and concentration and decreasing distractibility and impulsivity.  The act of getting their hands dirty (gardening, digging holes, making mud pies) can significantly improve a child’s mood and reduce anxiety and stress.   When these activities are done with family, children have opportunities to establish and practice social skills in low-stakes environments where caregivers can provide constructive feedback and guidance that they can then take into other situations, such as school.

The benefits of interactive outdoor play are also for you, the caregiver.  The occupation of play can help you feel more playful and present with your child, and connect on a deeper level.  Play should match the developmental stage, rather than the age, of the child, and can provide opportunities for parents and children to feel emotionally secure together.  As you play with your child, take time to notice things about yourself - do you have a tendency to want to take over the play?  To make it “productive”? If you notice this, take time to pause, give yourself permission to pivot, and go with your child’s ideas.  If creating play schemes is challenging for them, you can scaffold the play. The term “scaffolding” means you help a child get started with an idea, and then they continue the play while you take a step back and let them lead.  You may be surprised at where their ideas take the play!

We know that it may not be easy for you to step outside your home and instantly be in nature that is safe for your child to freely navigate, so we created this list of places that may provide more structure to your nature experience.  As you prepare to head outside, remember to bring things to make your adventure easier.  As a fellow parent, I try to bring: water bottles, snacks, baby wipes, a change of clothes and band-aids.  If my kids want to bring small cars or figures to join the outdoor play, I invite them to wear a small backpack and carry those things - this doubles as a responsibility task and heavy work if they carry their own water bottle!

Minnesota Outdoor Spaces(FREE)

Wisconsin Outdoor Spaces (accessibility features)

References

Clay, R. (2023, September 26). The many wondrous benefits of unstructured play. American Psychological Association.  https://www.apa.org/topics/children/kids-unstructured-play-benefits 

National Wildlife Federation.  (n.d.).  Health benefits and tips. https://www.nwf.org/Kids-and-Family/Connecting-Kids-and-Nature/Health-Benefits-and-Tips 

Porto, A. & Abu-Alreesh, A. (2022, August 24).  Vitamin D for babies, children & adolescents. American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/healthy-living/nutrition/Pages/vitamin-d-on-the-double.aspx 

UNICEF.  (2025, May 01). The importance of outdoor play (and how to support it). https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/importance-outdoor-play-and-how-support-it