Children who spend more time engaged in adventurous play….. have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to recent research. Safari MK and Safari Adventure Play were designed by one of the biggest indoor play manufactures in Europe.
It is specifically designed to give children opportunities to stretch themselves. There are easy, medium and hard parts to the play equipment which allows them to play freely, use imagination and interact with other children. Even basic things of discussing who will go across a piece of equipment improves social (and negotiation!) skills.
We have a massive wide range of free play equipment at Safari from role play, karts to a massive play frame that has every piece of equipment a child could imagine. Our Peterborough venue is the largest indoor play venue in East England, Free play is something that is very hard to measure but a vital part of your children’s development. You may even be delighted to hear that it is good for your children to play without you right next to them! This is where they often learn the most.
Helen Dodd, professor of child psychology at the University of Exeter, who led the study run with over 1200 c, said: “We’re more concerned than ever about children’s mental health, and our findings highlight that we might be able to help protect children’s mental health by ensuring they have plentiful opportunities for adventurous play. “This is really positive because play is free, instinctive and rewarding for children, available to everyone, and doesn’t require special skills.
We now urgently need to invest in and protect natural spaces, well-designed parks and adventure play areas, to support the mental health of our children.” They also found that children who spent more time playing adventurously had fewer “internalising problems”, which are characterised as anxiety and depression, and were also more positive during the first lockdown.
Covid has affected children a lot more than we often see at first and it is vital to give them opportunities to play as much as they can. So, it is great news, which we all know already, that play for children is really good for them.
The even better news is that Play is good for Adults as well so you can have fun at Safari as well if you want and play also benefits adults – see this website
