Outdoor play activities 'help children concentrate'
07/05/2010 Children in Londonderry will soon be able to enjoy new additions to an area for outdoor play activities as a second stage of development is completed.
Around £256,000 has been spent on the additional development, which is aimed at children aged eight and under, the Londonderry Sentinel reports.
Outdoor play equipment which will feature in the area includes a slide, climbing tower and rocking horses.
Eilis Gill, play animator for the new park, told the news provider that teachers whose pupils used the area reported greater levels of concentration among these children.
"We have groups coming in here with children who have diverse learning needs and when they are outdoors playing and are able to enjoy themselves and are able to have social interaction, they are able to go back to school and seem to be more focused," she explained.
There are many more benefits associated with outdoor play activities.
The New York Times reported recently that a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found toddlers who spend too much time in front of the TV are likely to have poorer grades, worse health and more problems with bullies by their fourth year of school.
Around £256,000 has been spent on the additional development, which is aimed at children aged eight and under, the Londonderry Sentinel reports.
Outdoor play equipment which will feature in the area includes a slide, climbing tower and rocking horses.
Eilis Gill, play animator for the new park, told the news provider that teachers whose pupils used the area reported greater levels of concentration among these children.
"We have groups coming in here with children who have diverse learning needs and when they are outdoors playing and are able to enjoy themselves and are able to have social interaction, they are able to go back to school and seem to be more focused," she explained.
There are many more benefits associated with outdoor play activities.
The New York Times reported recently that a study published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine found toddlers who spend too much time in front of the TV are likely to have poorer grades, worse health and more problems with bullies by their fourth year of school.
