How Does Lack Of Play Affect Child Development | Impact Of Play Deprivation?

Children are prone to react to their environment much more strongly than adults are. When they have a healthy balanced lifestyle, it shows through their happy cheerful demeanor.

However, if there are any extremities, they show up too. For example, an over-sheltered child may act fearfully in ordinary situations or be unwilling to try new things.

So it is best that children’s lifestyle is well thought out and balanced.

Unfortunately, these days it is impossible to ensure that children are having the optimal life quality that they should.

Let us take a look at how lack of play affects child development in detail.

How does lack of play affect child development?

With rapid urbanization and growing technology, outdoor exposure has been reduced to a minimum among children and it can cause all sorts of issues in your child. Lack of play affects child development.

Let us take a look at what the issues could be-

Vitamin Deficiencies

Being outdoors is not just good for the spirit, but also for the physical health of your children. Lack of outdoor activity can result in vitamin deficiencies in a kid. Playing outdoor gives children exposure to the sun.

While excessive sun exposure can lead to sunburns and UV exposure, it is still a crucial requirement for growing children. Sun exposure provides essential Vitamin D and the element of outdoor excursion helps the absorption of vitamins.

Irritability

Too much indoor time and time spent in front of digital screens can lead to the kids being cranky and irritable all the time. In order for proper physical and mental development, children need to be able to have experiences of their own that are not limited to virtual experiences.

Outdoor experiences with peers expand the children’s energies constructively and help with their mood stabilization. In the absence of this, children can become cooped up or irritable to deal with.

Loneliness

Social growth is a crucial part of growing up. If children are not exposed to a peer group on a regular and unrestricted basis, they may develop difficulty in dealing with other people in life resulting in feelings of loneliness.

When children engage in outdoor activities like playing or traveling, they become more sociable and approachable. This gives them a huge boost in achieving their life endeavors.

Lacking in Creativity and Executive function

Executive functioning refers to basic skills that each one of us possesses in some form or the other. These skills include planning, prioritizing, troubleshooting, multitasking, etc. As one can guess, these turn out to be pretty important for overall growth and success in life.

Children develop these skills as they engage with each other and unforeseen circumstances in life. These do not occur in sheltered environments and thus it is crucial that children are exposed to outdoor experiences like travel at an early age.

Related Read: 23 Best Adventure Activities All Students Should Know About & Start Exploring

Inadequate exercise

One of the most crucial requirements for health is to get proper exercise on a regular basis. This habit needs to be instilled at an early age or else children become complacent towards their own health.

Too much screen time or indoor time can result in children not receiving and not liking the prospect of exercise which can be disastrous in the long term.

What is play deprivation?

Play Deprivation is the name given to the view that not playing may deprive the young of experiences that are required in their overall development as well as essential socially and biologically.

It affects the children in the worst way possible and hence, it is extremely important to make children overcome it. Parents play the most significant role in helping their children overcome play deprivation. Therefore, they should get complete knowledge about it.  

What causes play deprivation? 

There are various factors that may lead to play deprivation in children. The factors include:

  • Unsafe or inadequate play spaces and equipment
  • Short recess or playtime during school hours
  • An over-structured schedule of children including many organized activities, sports, studies, and lack of time for free choice
  • Excessive use or consumption of technology including watching television and video gaming
  • Over attentive parents or educators in schools be concerned with the safety of the child and give little access to play with free choice
  • A global pandemic causing inaccessibility to play opportunities and social isolation

Impact of play deprivation on children | Why is play deprivation a serious problem?

The impacts of play deprivation can be catastrophic. They vary according to the state of deprivation in the children. Below are some of the major impacts of play deprivation.

  • Play deprivation may lead to a major emotional dysregulation of children. It may include less self-regulation, increased chances of depression, a tendency of becoming inflexible in thoughts, decreased control on impulses, and aggression.
  • Because of the emotional disbalance in children due to play deprivation, interpersonal relationships get affected.
  • Many studies conclude that play deprivation may impact the sensory stimulation in children causing loss of electrical, impulsive brain activities.
  • Play-deprived children are likely to become highly violent and antisocial. They tend to avoid any activity that includes getting along with the outdoor environment.
  • Play deprivation not only impacts the social, mental, and behavioral aspects of children’s lives but also majorly affects their physical well-being. The consequences of play deprivation further threaten children’s fitness, health, and development.
  • As play declines, the children become prone to many health problems including obesity, rickets, heart diseases, etc. Play deprived children are likely to develop 20-30% smaller sized brains than the normal size.

How does play deprivation cause a lack of social skills?

As the children do not get outdoors, there is less or no interaction between them and the outside world. Therefore, no social skills develop in children and they become anti-social. 

Since they do not interact with others, they do not have the patience to cope with anyone else either. The play-deprived children further end up developing violent characteristics. They may also exhibit rough “bully” behavior if kept in any social setting.

How does play deprivation affect learning and child development?

During the early years, a child goes through a sensitive phase in which neurological formation and growth take place.

The experience gained during this phase helps the child to form cortical maps that further helps in developing learning about the world. 

The children who are play-deprived do not get to experience this sensitive phase and hence, they lack sensory interaction during the phase.

Play deprivation closes the opportunity for children to exercise self-control, develop their imagination, and learn about the world around them. 

As a result, the brain of the child remains undeveloped or even malformed. Below is a list of the domains of learning and child development affected by play deprivation.

  • Cognitive Development – Creativity, abstract thinking, problem-solving, imagination, empathy, social cognition, mastering new concepts
  • Affective Development – Self-confidence, anxiety reduction, self-esteem, therapeutic effects
  • Social Development – Cooperation, sharing, conflict resolution, turn-taking, leadership skills
  • Physical Development – Fine motor experiences, gross motor experiences, self-help skills, physical challenges 
  • Attentional Development – Concentration, persistence, attention regulation
  • Language Development – Vocabulary, storytelling, communication skills, emergent literacy
  • Educational Domain – Learning concepts and skills, exploring, experimenting

How does play deprivation cause obesity?

Play allows children to be physically fit and active. When children become play deprived, there is no form of exercise included in their routine and hence, they do not burn any of their extra calories.

These calories keep on accumulating which leads children to become obese.

Play-deprived children spend a maximum of their time with electronic media sitting in one place. Due to a lack of physical movements, children are becoming overweight and inactive.

Conclusion

A child’s development is largely based on the kind of lifestyle that they have.

So for a well-rounded personality, it is important that the child goes outside, plays with their friends, travel with and without the parents, among other things.

Student education tours are a great way to engage children in constructive outdoor experiences. Do you know of any great outdoor activities too? Let us know in the comments.