The importance of outdoor recreation on child's mental development: focus on the child's first day in school (Review)

Abstract

Child’s outdoor recreation is not just all fun and games, but rather that act of play that is very critical in the development of child mentation because during outdoor recreation, the child experiments, explores and discovers, and the generated impulses resulting from these activities are transmitted into the brain.1 Interestingly, outdoor activities are so vital to promote children’s whole development including gross and fine motor skills, intellectual and social skills.2,3 In this article, outdoor recreation in early elementary is defined as activity children do outside the classroom for enjoyment when they are not studying and they include running, swinging, sliding. Merry-go-round, jumping, soccer, toys for skate, scooter and bike. These recreational activities could impact on the development of child mentation in the first day at school as disruption on parent-child symbiosis could pose a risk of affecting child’s early beginning. Studies have shown the influence of outdoor recreation in autistic children.4 Apart from the mental benefits, the physical and other benefits of outdoor recreation cannot be overemphasized. In this present study, outdoor recreation is reviewed in relation to the child’s mental development in the face of common challenges a child encounters during first time in school.