Health benefits of owning a cubby house

1) Improves Vision

A study published by the American Academy of Ophthalmology found that kids who spend time playing outside are at a reduced risk of developing “myopia,” or near-sightedness. The team of researchers found that a child’s chances of developing myopia dropped by two percent for each additional hour spent outdoors, per week. The study concluded that getting kids to spend more time outdoors could be a “simple strategy” to reduce the progression and development of near-sightedness in children.

2) Promotes Social Skills

We believes that getting kids to play outside – and, specifically, engaging in unstructured play – promotes a wide range of skills:

“On a playground, not everyone gets to go down the slide first. Having a cubby house for your kids is not just about running around and being active, but it’s also about learning social skills, executive functions, and behavioural skills as well through play when their friends or siblings are around.”

In fact, the University of Missouri-Kansas’ School of Education found that outdoor play has many brain-boosting benefits for kids, starting in infancy. The paper explains that outside play fosters “social, emotional, and cognitive competencies” in kids, including strengthening the language and communication interactions between young children who play together at the park or their own cubby house in their back garden.

3) Increases Attention Span

Parents notice the benefits of playing outside with her own kids. “The difference I see is both of my children have a high attention span comparatively speaking, and much more self-directed (they want to investigate things), where other kids might just sit back.”

An estimated 6.4 million children between the ages of 4 and 17 have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Studies have shown that green outdoor settings appear to reduce ADHD symptoms in children, which includes the exposure they get to natural settings like parks and beaches or their own fort or cubby through after-school and weekend activities. Overall, it’s becoming increasingly more apparent that these types of outdoor activities may be widely effective in reducing attention deficit symptoms in children.

4) Reduces Stress

When it comes to stress, Legendre tends to rely on natural remedies: “Spending time outside playing is such a huge outlet for stress. It’s relaxing; it is healing,” she said.

And there’s data to back this up. In 2014, researchers from the University of Colorado teamed up with educators from Maryland and Colorado to study the effects that green schoolyards had on children’s stress levels and resilience . They made the argument that increasing children’s exposure to green outdoor spaces eg cubby house, playground area could help decrease children’s’ stress levels by offering them an escape from life’s daily routine. The study said that kids who play outside found “peace away from stresses in the classroom and daily life.”

5) Increases Vitamin D Levels

The American Academy of Pediatrics says that vitamin D offers us several health benefits, such as strengthening bone health and helping to prevent diabetes and heart disease. In order to stave off vitamin D deficiencies in children, the Cleveland Clinic strongly urges parents and child care providers to make sure that their kids receive a healthy dose of the nutrient starting at birth. There are vitamin D supplements that you can take, but you can also get it through a free and natural version: sunlight.