And that leads me nicely to the thing I want to talk about today - Playtime. During the summer Holidays I lost count of the times I took my children to the playground. Now their ages are 11 months, 3 years and 12 years but all three of them loved it! But, do you know what surprised me? It was how many older children I saw who did not know how to work a swing! We have also been to a few children's parties this summer and again it has shocked me how many children did not know how to play basic games like musical chairs! What is going on?!
Now don't get me wrong I have nothing against electronic toys or games. Believe me our house is full of Wii, Nintendo, Xbox, Playstation, and even a few retro things like game cube, sega game gear and think somewhere we even have an old Dreamcast (oh dear). And I am not against children watching the telly. I know the theme tune to Mickey Mouse Clubhouse off by heart (sorry if you are now humming it to yourself!).
But what has happened to outside play? Now I know that in this modern world that we seem to be busier and also safety is important as we don't want to send our children out on their own to play. But outside play is vital for children's development. Outside is the best place for little ones to develop their motor skills like running and jumping, balance and coordination. Also, think of the health benefits. . outside is where our children are most likely to burn off calories to help keep obesity at bay.
Also our little ones (and older ones alike) learn a lot through their senses. Now think of all the different sounds, smells and textures our children come into contact with while outside - birds and animals - the smell of flowers (or worse!) - the feel of grass under their feet or feeling the bark of a tree as they climb. I read somewhere that children who spend a lot of their time acquiring their experiences through televisions and other such things are in actual fact only using two of their senses, that being hearing and sight, and this can seriously affect their perceptual abilities.
And finally outside is where our children can really let their imaginations go wild! It always amazes me how many new games they invent while playing outside. When I first set up Daisies and Bluebells I promised myself that I only wanted to ever sell toys that were either traditional and more importantly would inspire imagination. The same went for the clothes. I wanted to sell children's clothes that were just that - children's clothes and not shrunken versions of adult clothes. Clothes that children would love, that would inspire their imagination and also most importantly be comfortable to play in, and I think our Hooligan range meets all of these requirements, I hope you do to!
Thanks for reading!
