| Do you enjoy doing the same thing every day or do you like to mix it up every once in a while? I like to mix it up, and so does Eloise. If I take her to the same park everyday sure she will love it and come home tired and happy. But if I take her to different parks at least once a week she gets to experience different equipment that challenges her and pushes her to learn new skills. The secret is variety! If we just stuck to our local playground she would not be learning to climb different types of ladders, or gauge distance between rock climbing steps, or test out "twirly whirly slides". She absolutely loves going to meet her friends at different parks and looks forward to specific features that I can now use to bribe her to get into her car seat. It is certainly scary watching her learn and grow and gauge riskier equipment for herself, but it has helped me grow as well. I am learning to let go and let her experience the great outdoors on her own. Most days though we still visit our local playground because she really doesn't like the car and usually says "No, we will walk mommy. Okay?" Okay variety can come gradually. |  |
Enriching the quality of play by offering a variety of opportunities for different activities will become a trigger for increased physical activity, thereby reducing the risk of obesity." Dyment and Bell (2008)
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