Serious Need for Play: How Lack of Play Negatively Affects Kids

Child Obesity Is Rising
It is a well-known fitness principles that weight management can be boiled down to a few essential factors:
Eating the Right Food
Eating the Right Amount of Food
Exercising to Burn Off Excess Calories and Kickstart the Metabolism
Emotions
While the four factors above are by no means exhaustive, almost every obese person ignores the majority,
if not all, of these factors. Many children's diets today are focused on heavily processed foods that do not
give them the correct amount of macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrates and fats) or micronutrients
(vitamins, minerals, etc.), and this in itself has a deleterious effect on children playing. Why? It is well
known that a proper diet and eating the right food will boost energy. This, in turn, will have the carryover
effect of children wanting to play with all of the extra energy that they have.
Unfortunately, there are less parks and green space than ever in many areas of the country, meaning
there is less space to play as a community. Rest assured, however, that there are plenty of new
videogames and TV shows vying for a child's attention. The new norm for children is that a sedentary
lifestyle is in, and an active one is out. In turn, this negatively impacts a child's emotions since exercise
increases dopamine levels in the brain, which helps avoid depression. Depression is also a major factor
that contributes to obesity.
It is not difficult to see that children are exposed to many of the major factors that contribute to obesity,
which is why it is no surprise that child obesity rates continue to rise sharply.
The Deterioration of Social Skills
While the lack of play clearly hurts a child's physical well-being, a child's mental health is also at risk when
play becomes an afterthought. Leadership, self-esteem and empathy are all learned on the
playground, according to the latest research. Team sports and group activities also teach children how to
work as a team and ideally situate themselves in a group environment. Play is simply one of the best ways
a child can learn the tools he or she will need to succeed as a healthy adult.
The Destruction of Imagination
Creativity must be nurtured if it is to be utilized by people, and few activities nurture child creativity in the
same way as organized play. Children will learn to make rules, improvise and adapt to change, all under
the guise of a fun and enjoyable activity when allowed to play. Foster a child's ability to tell stories by
encouraging games where a narrative is formed. So, the next time your child is fighting an imaginary
enemy and saving the world, encourage it and watch their sparks of creative genius amaze you when they
are making the transition into adulthood.