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Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Nine Benefits of Playing on Swings for Children

Photo by tanakawho (Flickr)

There's no other feeling in the world quite like swinging. From the moment we sit down on the swing until we feel ourselves flying through the air as we cling with all our might to the swing's chain, the experience is invigorating and exhilarating. While I loved the swings as a kid, I also love swinging now and encourage my girls to engage in this activity as often as possible, since I know that kids also gain important benefits when they swing.

Swinging Helps With Sensory Integration

The act of swinging is more than just fun; it's a complex, sensory-rich experience that fosters sensory integration, vital for teaching kids’ brains how to organize and interpret information. This lays the groundwork for kids to develop more complicated academic, social, and emotional behaviors later in life.

Swinging Is a Brain-Boosting Endeavor

The unique motion of swinging stimulates various parts of the brain simultaneously, which helps to develop interconnected pathways essential for rhythm, muscle control, and enhanced focus.

Swinging Builds Spatial Awareness

The challenge of maintaining their balance on a swing seat and keeping that balance as they swing enhances spatial awareness. This is crucial for understanding and interacting with the world, supporting everything from basic navigation to complex mathematical and scientific reasoning.

Swinging Develops Gross Motor Skills

The dynamic actions of pumping legs and coordinating full-body movements strengthen kids’ bodies as they play.

Swinging Hones Fine Motor Skills

Gripping swing chains develops hand, finger, and arm coordination that’s essential to tasks like holding a pencil or cutting with scissors.

Swinging Improves Core Strength and Stability

I want my girls to have a strong core, the muscles around their trunk and pelvis, because these muscles are responsible for stability and balance. Swinging provides a fun, effective way to build these core muscles, ensuring better balance and posture.

Swinging Calms Kids

When my girls were babies, I often took them swinging because the rhythmic motion calmed and relaxed them. Swinging mirrors the soothing experience of being rocked, so it's a natural stress reliever. Even now, we’ll take a swing break when we feel frustrated, angry, or stressed, and I can see my girls instantly relax.

Swinging Fosters Social Skills

The swing set is a social hub, a place where children learn to negotiate, share, and make new friends. Whenever we visit the park, my girls always find someone new to play with on the swings, and these interactions can lay the groundwork for healthy social development and future relationship-building skills.

Swinging Is Fun!

Above all, swinging is just plain fun. Kids love it, and adults love it, too! And while we spend time together on the swings, we’re creating lasting family memories.

Swinging has always been one of my favorite playground activities. It offers many benefits to our kids, which makes it an important activity for them, too. Will you join my girls and I and go swinging today?

Find more about the author:Kim Hart

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