Child Development: Genes, Environment, and Play - Essay Sample

Introduction

Child development is the physical, emotional, mental, and language changes that occur in the life of the child from birth to the beginning of adulthood stage. At this process, the child begins to depend on himself rather than his parents. Child development is mainly affected by genetic, environmental, and parental factors during his growth. Playing is an essential factor in child growth and development in society (Larson, Ward, Neelon & Story, 2011). The various study has been done that indicated that kids playing outside homes have a holistic development compared to the children playing indoors. There are numerous advantages a child acquire from playing with his partners outside the house. According to the statistics done indicated that American child spends an average of four to seven minutes per day outside the home compared to indoors game. Therefore, the study will analyze how kids playing outside the house develop a complete holistic development compared to the kids playing in the house.

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Building Physically Healthier Children

There are a lot of activities that a child gains from outdoor games rather than indoor games. Playing outside allows the child to run, jump, pull, catch, and throw objects without fear (Larson et al. 2011). The following actions are conducted with motor skills that help the child to improve his or her practice. The children who play outside, are gaining an aerobic exercise and gaining abilities such as pushing and pulling that is not found in the indoors. The children who play outside have been able to keep fit since their body burns calories in the body, preventing them from developing obesity and strengthening their bones. These children will be suitable for exercising in the environment. According to the survey that was done indicated that playing at the sun will help the child to develop vitamin D that builds the child bones and prevention of chronical diseases (Stephenson, 2002). Children who play indoors lack vitamin D and physical strength compared to the children who play outside. According to the study that was done by the American Academy of Pediatrics stated that children playing outside are more likely to develop vitamin D deficiencies compared to outside ones (Stephenson, 2002).

Cognitive and Social Development

Playing outside has a great advantage to child cognitive and social development. Out outdoor structure, games educate the kid on how to take turns while playing different games. The child will be able to develop positive behavioral skills. The children will be more likely to learn several innovative, exploring various activities in their surroundings. The child will be able to create an adequate language, cooperation, and planning abilities while playing with his friends compared to the child that plays indoors (Larson et al. 2011). The following attributes will help the child to develop positive self-esteem in life. Kid communication skills will grow; he will learn n how to make friends, interact, and address his or her concerns.

The child will learn how to control his emotions abilities while interacting with different children compared to the indoor kids. The fresh air plays an essential role in reducing the level of stress for the child. Playing outside expands the child's knowledge in understanding several activities that happen in his or her surroundings. According to the study done indicated that children playing outside are more likely to express themselves adequately compared to indoor children who have low self-esteem.

Improvement of the Sensory Skills

Children who play outside are more likely to develop strong sensory skills compared to children who stay indoors. According to the survey done by optometry and the vision, science indicated that children who play outside the house are more likely to develop a better idea compared to children who stay inside the house (Tandon, Saelens, Zhou, Kerr & Christakis, 2013). The preschoolers usually learn different things through their senses; playing outside will enable the child to discover his environment by seeing, smelling, hearing, and touching senses.

The sensory skills are essential for child growth and development at the early stages of life. The child will have the liberty to see different creatures, smell the flowers, hearing different sounds and touching objects, and tasting fruits in his or her surroundings (Tandon et al. 2013). When the children are glued on the television, they will be able to develop only two senses, such as hearing and sight in the environment. The perception ability of the child will be affected when he or she is glued in the television and movie games. Therefore, children should be encouraged to play outside to develop practical sensory skills.

Increasing Their Attention Span

When the child is allowed to play outside, he or she will be able to develop curiosity, and task minded abilities compared to the indoor children. Kids who spend most of their time indoors playing games are more likely to create a low capacity in initiating or taking part in the activities in the organization. Indoor children have difficulty in solving and handling different tasks in the institution compared to outdoor children who have a positive mind and esteem in learning. Most of the indoor children are diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) compared to outdoor children (Stephenson, 2002). In some schools in the United States stated that children who play outside can learn faster compared to children who play indoors.

Better Immunity and HAPPY

Most of the kids who play outside develop a happy feeling and active resistance compared to the children who stay indoors. When children play outside, there is a gland known as the pineal gland, which will be stimulated (Larson et al. 2011). This gland in the brain helps us in keeping our immunity stronger and happier. This feeling will help the child to prolong his or her life and reduce the stress levels. When the child spends most of his time with his friends outside, he will be able to develop a positive mood. This mood will translate to the child's self-esteem making him or her interact with different people without any fear (Stephenson, 2002). The child playing outside will be able to develop better immunity and happiness compared to children who are staying indoors in the house.

Executive Function

There are several skills that are learned and developed by exercising and practicing outside the house. The following skills help the children in prioritizing, troubleshooting, negotiating, and multitasking (Stephenson, 2002). The creativity factor falls inside this section; it is the ability of the child to solve the problem and entertain himself and herself. When the child plays outside, he or she will be able to develop the following skills compared to indoor children who are not able to create the following factors. When the child plays outside, he or she can learn the following skills through an unstructured way or practicing. Children need time for themselves to play with other kids to develop their games, make out their things, and amuse themselves while developing unique plays and skills in the environment (Tandon et al. 2013). The ability of the child to stay outside, he will be able to create an ability to practice essential skills that will assist them in their lives.

Taking Risks

Children need to take risks in different activities they are engaged at. As parents, we are more anxious to see our kids doing various activities. But when the children are kept indoors, they will not be able to understand what is expected of them. When the children are allowed to play outside, they will be able to learn how to take a risk and develop confidence in different activities they are undertaking. When the kid decides to climb a tree, he can break his or her arm, and when the kid decides to make a friendship with his fellow, he can also be rejected. This exposes the child to the cruel outside life where he will be able to undergo the following challenges. When the child stays indoors, he or she will not be exposed to risks that come with life; he will have difficulty in creating friends and playing with others. Allowing the child to play builds an internal fighting and ambitious ability inside the child in achieving specific measures in his life (Larson et al. 2011).

Socialization

Socialization is an essential factor in child growth and development. Allowing the child to play outside, he or she will be able to learn how to work together with his friends compared to indoor kids who have nobody to associate with. When the children, for instance, play and interact outside, they will be able to learn how to make friends, how to cooperate with other children (Tandon et al. 2013). Playing outside makes the children learn how to love and appreciate different people in our surroundings.

Appreciation of Nature

There is so much life in our environment; currently, the child should learn, understand, and create activities with character. For instance, when the child plays outside, he will be able to play with soils, seeing animal creatures, climbing trees, and viewing water structure (Stephenson, 2002). When the child plays inside the house, he would not be able to learn more concerning our environment changes. Children should learn and understand the importance of our environment. Playing outside will make the child realize that he or she is the future of the environment; therefore, he should take part in preserving it. As parents or friends, we should encourage children to play outside rather than staying in the house. The child will be able to learn about the world. He will be able to ask different questions that are essential in his knowledge and intelligence. In the outside play, the child will be able to learn, science, ecology, farming, maths, and vocabulary while exposed to the outside world (Stephenson, 2002). They will also be able to learn why, how, and why things happen in their surroundings.

Surplus-Energy Theory

The surplus-energy theory is the hypothesis that states that people should be allowed to release the pent-up energy that is collected over time. For instance, teachers believe that after intense classwork, the children should be allowed to let off stream through practicing his body. The outdoor play is also considered to reenergizing the kids by engaging them in a more challenging activity than the class activities. The recreational theory allows the children to be mentally, physically, and emotionally prepared for other tasks. However, when the child is playing in the house, he will lack overall exceptional energy stability in his body.

Child Enjoyment

Allowing the child to play outside will enable the child to express his characterized childhood feelings. As analyzed once stated that to have productive and enjoyable adulthood, you need to have a pleasant childhood period. Children, however, require an opportunity to explore, manipulates, influence, marvel, reconfigure, and push their limits (Stephenson, 2002). Therefore leaving the child to stay Indoors, there will make a child miss several attributes in his or her life in the world currently. The outdoor activities give the child some of the essential memories of childhood compared to staying indoors by the child.

Self-Learning and the Environment

Children should push their limits by learning their own physical and emotional capabilities in life. When a child plays outside, he will be able to ask the following questions, such as how high can I swing?. How high can I climb? Can I climb this tree? And can I roll in the grass?. The following are some of the questions that children will ask themselves while playing outside the house. The child will try to attai...