Amman - In the past, a child waited for the moment they could leave the house to play and spend time with friends. That was their own space, where they released their energy and lived their happiest moments. Today, with a single touch, they find a world of games and videos sweeping across the phone screen, and spend hours of their day sitting silently, without moving.
اضافة اعلان
From an early age, children are introduced to the world of smart devices, which become a central part of their daily lives and a way to keep them quiet, while the world moves before their eyes on a small screen.
Screens appear to compete with traditional play spaces and the outdoor activities that were once an essential part of childhood. Amid this shift, the importance of outdoor play stands out as more than a means of entertainment and a way to pass the time.
Play and reducing the risk of psychological problems
A large recent scientific study found that children who spend more time playing outside the home during their preschool years may be less likely to develop psychological and behavioural problems later, and more likely to enjoy good mental health up to the age of eight.
The study, led by researchers from the UK's University of Exeter in collaboration with the universities of Glasgow, University College London and Complutense University of Madrid, drew on data from 4,151 children in the "Growing Up in Scotland" project. Its findings were published in the journal Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
The results showed a statistically significant association between an increase in the number of days a child plays outdoors each week during the preschool years and the likelihood of their remaining on a healthy mental health path up to age eight. Each additional day of outdoor play per week was found to increase the chances of good mental health by between 6% and 14%.
This highlights the importance of outdoor play in building a child's character and strengthening their mental health, and its role in developing their social, emotional and behavioural skills. This contrasts with the challenges posed by digital lifestyles and the decline in opportunities for free play, movement and direct interaction with others.
A basic developmental need for children
From a psychological perspective, child psychologist Asmaa Touqan explains that outdoor play is not merely an entertainment activity for children, but a basic developmental need. Through movement, physical effort, exploration and interaction with the surrounding environment, children are able to grow.
Touqan explains that through outdoor play, a child releases their emotions and energy in a healthy way, which helps them shed the tension and pressure they cannot express. It also improves mood through exposure to fresh air and sunlight, improves sleep patterns, and makes children feel energetic.
She continues that play also gives children space to make decisions, try new things, deal with challenges and solve problems with other children, which helps build their self-confidence. She stresses that play is one of the important factors that support a child's mental health and healthy growth.
Electronic games can encourage aggressive behaviour
Touqan also points out that playing with other children is a small social school, giving the child the chance to learn social skills they cannot acquire from electronic games or direct instruction.
Through play, she notes, children learn to take part, keep to their role, respect rules and laws, and cooperate. They come to understand that others have different feelings and desires, and that every person has a personality and habits that set them apart from other children.
Touqan adds that play exposes children to a range of situations. A child may lose a game, be refused by another child, or have to give up something they want.
When these situations occur under supervision and in a safe environment, they give the child the chance to learn patience, to tolerate frustration, to control anger and to solve problems, rather than withdrawing or resorting to aggressive behaviour. With repetition of these experiences, Touqan says, a child's ability to form relationships, their social intelligence and their ability to express their feelings develop.
How children acquire social skills
Touqan stresses that the problem is not the devices themselves, but how they are misused, especially when they become a child's main choice for spending their time. She explains that when a child spends long hours in front of a screen, their ability to acquire the social and emotional skills that are important for developing their character declines, and they may become less able to tolerate boredom and to be patient.
She points out that a child who spends their time on devices cannot be judged as antisocial or lazy, since screens may simply be the easiest route to immediate enjoyment and gratification, especially when no other alternatives are available.
Accordingly, Touqan advises parents to set aside time each day, or several days a week, for outdoor activities, to join their children in play and physical activities, to encourage exploration, and to set limits on device use without resorting to sudden punishment or deprivation.
She believes a child does not need expensive toys or organised activities, but needs a safe space, enough time to play freely, and an adult who gives them attention and encouragement.
Touqan sent parents a message: "We do not want to deprive our children of technology. The goal is to restore balance to their childhood, so that we do not raise a generation that knows only how to deal with screens, but lacks the skills to deal with life, with others and with its own feelings."
Personality forms through interactive activities
From an educational perspective, education expert Aysh Al-Nawaysah explains that the findings of the study confirm a number of basic educational truths. Education and character building are not confined to classrooms or screens. A child's personality is shaped through a range of interactive activities, whether inside or outside the classroom, and inside or outside the home.
Al-Nawaysah stresses that play, of whatever kind, especially in an outdoor environment, is not merely a means of entertainment, but a developmental, educational and psychological need that contributes greatly to building a child's personality.
Accordingly, the importance of these findings moves us from viewing play as simply a way to fill a child's free time, to recognising it as one of the essential components of preventive and comprehensive education that helps build a child's character.
Al-Nawaysah says that the more opportunities a child has for free and organised play in an outdoor environment, the greater their chances of acquiring important social and emotional skills, most notably cooperation, controlling emotions, respecting others, solving problems and dealing with different life situations and challenges.
She adds that this also greatly strengthens a child's mental health, helps them relieve stress and anxiety, supports their social development by promoting communication and interaction with others, helps them develop their behaviour and control their emotions, and contributes to their intellectual, cognitive and physical growth.
The problem of excessive attachment to screens
Al-Nawaysah points out that we are facing a major problem today: children's excessive attachment to screens, which has become one of the factors affecting a child's development in an unhealthy way, given their exposure to uncontrolled and unrealistic content.
Accordingly, she stresses the importance of strengthening the role of the family and the school in setting aside more time for play away from screens and unstructured free time, involving children in physical and play activities, and reducing excessive reliance on smartphones.
For schools, she says, it is essential to restore the importance of physical education lessons and provide suitable playgrounds, use learning outside the classroom, and not treat the school break merely as rest time, but as an opportunity for play and interaction.
On the level of public and educational policy, Al-Nawaysah explains that this requires providing playgrounds and open spaces where children can play, incorporating outdoor play into childhood and kindergarten programmes, and training teachers to use play in the learning process, in order to support children's psychological and social development.
Source: Al-Ghad. Reporting by Rasha Kanakrieh
