Personality Traits Children Develop at the Playground

If you ask a group of adults where they honed their best personality traits, you might discover that many of them say that they did it on the playground. Parents and teachers can do their best to teach important character traits, but there is something about free play outside with other kids that really drives home the importance of developing a good personality. These five traits are just a few of the ones that kids develop when they spend time at the playground.

Nurture Kindness and Empathy

School playground equipment should always have enough space for a class to play on together, but kids will still need to learn how to take turns and help their friends. Offering to push a friend on the swing set or letting someone else play on a spring rider are opportunities for kids to discover the rewards that come from being kind. Kids also have chances to practice empathy and provide encouragement if they notice a kid who needs someone to play with or who is frustrated with learning a new skill.

Reward Perseverance

Even young children need goals. Kids often use playground equipment to set new challenges for themselves. A child might be working on finally being able to make it all the way across the monkey bars on their own, or they may be building on their climbing skills to get to the top of a structure. Working on a new skill day after day is a lesson in perseverance that kids can use in other areas of their life such as developing their academic abilities.

Build Resilience

Developing new skills doesn’t always follow a steady and upward path. At times, kids will fail in their attempts to do something new at the playground. Whether your kid can’t manage to start swinging on their own just yet or they fail to reach the top of a climbing structure, they have to learn how to get up and keep moving on. Every time your child struggles with a task and decides to try again is another chance for them to build resilience that will help them overcome any challenge that comes their way.

Inspire a Natural Sense of Curiosity

A curious mind stimulates a desire to learn more about the world. Playgrounds are filled with things that inspire curiosity. From a toddler watching how the sun shines through colored panels to an older kid checking the rain gauge on a play structure, there are always new things for kids to explore on the playground.

Give Them Confidence

Self-confidence is a trait that parents and teachers try to nurture in children, and it is best learned through having positive experiences. A child builds their confidence when they overcome their fear and decide to go down a slide for the first time. Mastering new skills builds confidence, and even older kids benefit from playing interactive games on the playground that give them a mental boost every time they score a point.

Raising strong and kind kids is as easy as giving them the tools that they need to stimulate their social development. Custom playgrounds that include a variety of different types of equipment lets kids set goals, overcome challenges and learn how to treat others with patience and kindness so that they develop a well-rounded personality.