Big Body and Physical Play: Benefits and Activities for all Ages

Big Body and Physical Play for Children

There are two avenues to physical activity for children: (1) the structured, directed kind that children get in a school physical education program and (2) the unstructured free play of big body play — the rough and — tumble activities and the exuberant and spontaneous gross motor movements that come naturally and instinctively to children.

Frances Carlson, the author of Big Body Play, identifies it as the “very physical, vigorous, boisterous, and sometimes bone-jarring play style that many children love and crave.”

The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) endorses big body play in Early Childhood Education, as it is a large support for children’s developing skills, especially social-emotional and linguistic thinking. Through practice with active play, children gain an understanding of themselves in space, learn how to manage and control their own bodies based on how their body can impact that of another, explore verbal and nonverbal communication, and practice turn taking.

Here are some of the key benefits of big body play for children:

• Physical Health: Big body play promotes physical fitness by improving cardiovascular health, muscle strength, coordination, and flexibility.

• Social Development: Big body play often involves interaction with others, which helps children develop social skills including cooperation, negotiation, and communication while engaging in group activities.

• Emotional Regulation: Physical activities allow children to regulate emotions, reduce anxiety, and promote overall emotional well-being.

• Cognitive Development: Physical play stimulates the brain and enhances problem-solving skills. Children learn about cause and effect, spatial relationships, and physics through activities like building, stacking, and climbing.

• Creativity: Big body play encourages the opportunity to create games and scenarios during play, which enhances children’s creativity and imagination.

• Self-Confidence: Overcoming obstacles, climbing to new heights, or learning a new physical skill can provide a sense of accomplishment and self-assurance.

• Risk Management: Big body play allows children to assess risks and make decisions.

• Sensory Integration: Engaging in various physical activities helps in sensory integration, where the brain processes sensory information from different modalities (such as touch, balance, and body awareness).

• Family Bonding: Whether it's a hike, a day at the playground, or playing sports together, big body play activities create lasting memories and strengthen family relationships.

• Healthy Lifestyle Habits: Children who enjoy physical activities are more likely to continue being active throughout their lives.

While big body play does offer numerous benefits, safety should remain a priority for anyone participating in big body play with children. Ensuring that proper supervision occurs is essential for children to engage in physical activities safely. Having a suitable environment for physical play is also important for safety and accessibility.

Big Body and Physical Play for Teens

Big body play for teenagers involves physical activities that allow them to use their bodies in dynamic and energetic ways. These activities are not only fun but also promote physical fitness, social interaction, and emotional well-being.

Activity examples of big body play for teenagers include:

• Team Sports: Teenagers often participate in team sports such as basketball, soccer, football, volleyball, or rugby. These sports involve running, jumping, and various body movements, promoting cardiovascular health, coordination, and teamwork.

• Individual Sports: Activities like swimming, tennis, gymnastics, or martial arts offer teenagers opportunities for big body play while allowing them to focus on individual skills and goals.

• Dance: Many teenagers enjoy dance as a way to have fun, express themselves, and stay physically active.

• Skateboarding and Rollerblading: Skateboarding and rollerblading involve balance, coordination, and tricks, allowing teenagers to engage in adventurous and physically demanding activities.

• Rock Climbing: Indoor or outdoor rock climbing challenges teenagers both mentally and physically. It requires strength, endurance, and problem-solving skills.

• Parkour: Parkour is a discipline that involves moving rapidly through an urban environment, negotiating obstacles using running, jumping, and climbing.

• Biking: Mountain biking or BMX biking allows teenagers to explore outdoor trails, perform tricks, and enjoy the thrill of speed and movement.

• Other Outdoor Activities: Activities such as hiking, kayaking, rafting, or zip-lining offer teenagers opportunities to engage with nature while participating in physically challenging and exciting experiences.

• Fitness Classes: Teenagers can attend fitness classes tailored to their age group, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT), circuit training, or dance fitness classes.

• Recreational Games: Teenagers often engage in informal recreational games with friends, such as tag, capture the flag, or ultimate frisbee. These games involve running, dodging, and quick movements, providing an outlet for big body play in a social context.

Big body play for teenagers is not only essential for their physical development but also for building confidence, social skills, and a positive attitude toward physical activity that can last into adulthood.

Big Body and Physical Play for Adults

While the term "big body play" is often associated with children, the concept of engaging in physical activities involving large movements of the body also applies to adults. For adults, these activities may take different forms and offer similar benefits in terms of physical health, emotional well-being, and social interactions.

Here's how big body play can manifest in the lives of adults:

• Sports and Athletics: Many adults engage in sports such as basketball, soccer, tennis, or swimming, or various sports leagues, which involve significant physical movements and coordination.

• Dance: Dance not only provides exercise but also allows for creative expression and social interaction.

• Outdoor Activities: Activities like hiking, rock climbing, kayaking, or skiing involve substantial physical effort and body movement. These activities often take place outdoors, providing a connection with nature along with the benefits of physical activity.

• Fitness Classes: Exercise classes often involve dynamic and large body movements. These classes are not only great for physical fitness but also for socializing and meeting like-minded individuals.

• Yoga and Pilates: While these practices focus on flexibility and balance, they also involve various large body movements and poses. Yoga, in particular, includes sequences that require significant physical effort and coordination.

• Gardening: Gardening involves a lot of physical activity. Digging, planting, weeding, and other gardening tasks require bending, squatting, and lifting, providing a low-impact form of big body play.

• Team Building Activities: In corporate or group settings, team building activities often involve physical challenges and problem-solving tasks that require significant body movements, and promote teamwork and camaraderie.

• Martial Arts: Martial arts involve rigorous physical training, including various kicks, punches, and stances. Practicing martial arts not only improves physical fitness but also enhances mental discipline and focus.

• Playful Interactions: Playful interactions with children or pets can involve activities such as running, chasing, or playful wrestling, which are forms of physical play for adults that promote bonding and laughter.

• Fitness Challenges: Participating in fitness challenges, obstacle course races, or mud runs requires a combination of strength, endurance, and agility, encouraging adults to engage in rigorous physical activities.

Engaging in these activities not only promotes physical health and well-being but also fosters a sense of community, reduces stress, and enhances overall quality of life for adults.

Resources on Big Body and Physical Play

Here are some resources and references surrounding big body play and its benefits:

• Benefits of Play, and Big Body Play, In Particular, The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC)

• Balancing Safety and Healthy Risk-Taking for Young Children, Psychology Today

• Big Body Play: Benefits, Risks, and Myths, Greentrike

• Physical Activity for Kids and Teens, Nebraska Extension - University of Nebraska

• How to Help Your Teen get Moving, CNN

• How Much Physical Activity do Adults Need?, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

• Physical Activity for Adults, Nebraska Extension - University of Nebraska

• Rough-and-Tumble Play: A Teacher’s Guide 2023, brightwheel Blog

IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play Event Highlights - September 16, 2023

On Saturday, September 16, 2023 as part of the International Play Association - USA National Day of Play, Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative hosted the “IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play.” This event was held in the Hazelwood community at Lytle Land Park, located at 5113 Lytle Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15207.

Check out our highlights video and some of the playful images from our event that showcased how loose parts play and imagination is a universal type of play, no matter where you reside!

Family Matters: The Power of Play - Talk Pittsburgh Interview

Join Adam James Zahren of Playful Pittsburgh Collaborative and Randi Vega of Age-Friendly Greater Pittsburgh as they share opportunities that both organizations provide to advocate for the critical impact that play has on the development of children in our communities.

Social-Emotional Learning and Play Intersecting

Singing and performing are also a part of socio-dramatic play.

Socio-dramatic play holds immense potential for nurturing emotional intelligence. This form of play, in particular, proves to be both dynamic and immersive for children to explore and understand their own and others’ emotions. This form of play involves role-playing and imaginative scenarios, which allow children to identify, experience, and express a wide range of emotions when an environment is safe and supportive.

Children take on different roles in the socio-dramatic play and experience a rich emotional landscape. Children encounter various emotions firsthand by pretending to be teachers, doctors, or parents, and they develop the ability to recognize and communicate feelings authentically. This process cultivates emotional literacy as children learn to label emotions and understand their causes and consequences. This type of play connects body and mind.

Empathy and world-traveling are also nurtured through socio-dramatic play. By playing different roles and interacting with peers, children gain insights into the emotional experiences of others. They learn to interpret non-verbal cues and facial expressions, fostering empathy and understanding of a multitude of emotions.

Embracing socio-dramatic play and emphasizing emotional identification empowers children to navigate the complexities of emotions with confidence and empathy. By providing many opportunities for socio-dramatic play, we equip children with lifelong skills to build harmonious relationships with themselves and others in the real world.

You child demonstrates socio-dramatic play and pretend play during a “tea party” story time at The Homewood Early Learning Hub & Family Center.

DAP Action Step: You can implement socio-dramatic play with your family by encouraging socio-dramatic play at home, in classrooms, or within your local community setting. Provide loose parts like props, costumes, and other open-ended materials that inspire imaginative play. Engage children in conversations about emotions, helping them identify and understand their feelings and those of others. By supporting socio-dramatic play, we enable children to develop emotional intelligence and prepare them for the world they’ll soon be navigating.

How Bluey Showcases Play, Creativity, and Emotional Learning for Children...and Adults

Sisters Bluey and Bingo from the television show, Bluey.

If you are a parent, grandparent, or caregiver, you have more than likely heard of the animated, family entertainment phenomenon that is "Bluey." With the upcoming “Bluey’s Big Play” live program taking place in Pittsburgh during September, the fandom for the play-focused canines continues to trend upwards. But what has made the cartoon so memorable and impactful?
For most families and caregivers, the way in which the show advocates for play and creativity, mixed with heart-tugging storylines, makes the show a “must watch” for all ages.

Bluey Helps Teach Children and Parents About Play and Creativity

Simply, adults and kids love this Australian animated show. The program mainly focuses on a family of blue heeler dogs living in Brisbane. While the episodes themselves are only seven minutes long, the show illustrates the beauty of childhood and focuses on the realities of being a parent in current times.

The animated program features 6-year-old Bluey; her 4-year-old sister, Bingo; her mom, Chili; and her dad, Bandit.

The show exemplifies what years of child psychology research have made clear: that children learn through play. Bluey illustrates a variety of age-appropriate caregiving practices that parents and caregivers can use in the everyday life of a child. There are even certain episodes or scenes that provide inspiration for playful learning opportunities for all families.

Check out a list of playful learning lessons highlighted by The 74, a nonprofit news organization covering America’s education system.

What are parents and caregivers learning from “Bluey?”

From lessons about why personal self care is important to lessons about accepting and moving on from failure, Bluey’s storylines have shown to be empathetic, insightful, and most important of all, emotional.

During a recent NPR segment, parents of children whom are fans of the show shared why Bluey has been impactful in navigating the everyday, real life issues and complications that come into

During the episode “Grandad,” a senior family member needs a medical procedure (heartworm surgery) and rest. While the children want to get outside and play with their energetic granddad, the mother, Chili, harks on why her father should be resting, but ultimately learns that time is fleeting and childhood deserves attention. Chili reminisces on her own playful experience with her caregiver, giving some perspective in the minds of adults from this unexpected, educational source.

This is one of many examples of how Bluey incorporates social-emotional learning into relatable scenarios for all ages, and particularly for adults.

Check out a list of 12 life lessons that adults can learn from the show from ScreenRant.

Bluey’s Big Play, September 23 and 24, Pittsburgh, Pa.

If you’re in the City of Pittsburgh, you’ll have an opportunity to check out the live show, “Bluey’s Big Play” on September 23 and 24. The live program takes audience members through a Sunday afternoon in the Heeler household where Dad (Bandit) feels like a little bit of afternoon time out, while children Bluey and Bingo have other plans for their day.

Learn more about “Bluey’s Big Play” from the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust

Let’s Talk Loose Parts Play

The natural world is full with loose parts!

When I was younger, we’d play kitchen outside by smashing up berries, mud, and grass and mixing it all together. Then, we’d set our rock table with big green leaves and puffy snowball-like hydrangeas. We’d imagine we were at a fancy restaurant, say “excusez-moi” as if we were French, and laugh the afternoon away.

In the same afternoon, we’d use sticks as scythes and knock down tall grasses before building our fort out of the logs and sticks we’d find in the surrounding area. In the outside world, anything can become a loose part. Anything can be used to craft a playful world for yourself, and for others!

What is Loose Parts Play, and Why is it Beneficial?

Loose parts places the power in the hands of the player. When using loose parts, individuals build a world of their own, leverage their imaginations to fill in gaps and collaborate with those around them to invent together. It’s sort of like the Stone Soup story: everyone brings a bit of something to the table, and when it’s all said and done, there’s a beautiful feast for the imagination waiting in the mud and muck.

Don’t forget to attend the “IPA-USA National Day of Loose Parts Play” event on Saturday, September 16. (Scan the QR code for more information).

If you love getting outside and exploring nature, check out these Park Activities from our partners at Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy. There are many ways of exploring nature and creating something along the way.

How can you use loose parts to tell a story? Can you use them to create a picture? The world is yours with loose parts play!

Loose Parts Play Resources

• [WATCH] Rusty's Backyard - Loose Parts, Rusty Keeler YouTube

• “Loose Parts” in Children’s Outdoor Play Environments Resources, International Journal of Early Childhood Environmental Education

• Playful Possibilities: Simple Cardboard Box More Than it Seems to Young Learners, Omaha Wolrd-Herald

• Loose Parts Play in Preschool: A Guide for Educators and Parents, brightwheel

• When Kids Like the Box More Than the Toy: The Benefits of Playing with Everyday Objects, The Conversation