Idea Education Talks About Childhood Obesity and Lack of Free Play in Preschools

Dubai, May 6, 2015 (Newswire.com) - The battle to overcome childhood obesity in Dubai can’t be won easily unless  the best Nurseries in Dubai start focusing on free play for children, which has reduced just as children have been putting on a lot of weight, according to an educator at Idea Education in Dubai.

"Efforts have been made not only in Dubai, but globally to reverse the effects of obesity, but until now all that has been done is to improve a child's nutrition and physical activity, which has brought about disappointing results. The missing ingredient to the mix is free play, the good old method of play that is initiated by the child, who enjoys activities for hours each day." says an educator at Idea Education nursery in Dubai.

Parents often, try to motivate their children to engage in play at home, by constantly berating them to 'go outside and play until dinner time'. This trend is no more, gone are the days where children took the opportunity to engage in all sorts of activities, and the neighborhood was a flurry with children all over, without much adult supervision, only a parent's ear listening to the eerie silence as dusk comes in, which could only mean that play has ended for the day. The children managed to become creative and keep themselves physically active for a long period of time each day, because they never ran out of ideas. However, today, neighborhoods that are habitats to young children, remain quiet and almost ghost like as children play indoors glued to their tablets, computers and video games.

Today, many pediatricians agree that encouraging children to develop and engage in unstructured play at home or in Nursery Education is a good way to increase a child's physical activity, which is important to beat and overcome the epidemic of childhood obesity.

Educators state that " A child's activity is not necessarily a structured exercise program, but the main aim should be to get the child moving and feel happy that they are doing this, which will want them to keep at it, instead of giving up. Many Kids Nursery in Dubai features activities for youngsters such as hopscotch, hide-and-seek, tag,  and jump-rope, which are not only addictive but also helps to burn extra calories and improve a child's fitness level and overall health.

"Organized sports activities for youngsters are good, but they should have flexible rules and allow free play during practices, and focus on having fun rather than being competitive." says the educator. "Even with older children, letting them play their own games helps them maintain that enthusiasm for sports".

The bottom line is that parents and educators agree and support their children in free play activities as opposed to organized activities, which gives children the benefit of good health, exercise and to be a good sport with little or no prompting to encourage the activity. Also, children of all ages, sizes, and abilities can benefit equally, with absolutely no pressures, physical preferences, or  be singled out, as it can happen with many other activities. It is not just the physical health aspect that free play enhances, youngsters also learn better when they are to play freely in an uncontrolled environment.