The importance of roughhousing with your kids
Meg Faure weighs in on the importance of roughhousing with your kids.
Sometimes the simplest acts are the most powerful. As you watch your partner roughhouse with her, hearing that hysterical laughter, you may feel a little anxious and want to step in and prevent any tears. But truly, this simple act of roughhousing is neurological gold!
Roughhousing is play that involves a lot of physical contact – play that is mutually positive and entails a high degree of trust. Many studies show that kids feel happier and more relaxed after roughhousing play.
Beyond the fun and happiness of the moment, roughhousing has long-term benefits too.
Brain food
Body sense
Motor skills
Resilience
Social skills
Roughhousing builds our social acumen. There are unwritten rules to roughhousing – they include respecting another person, reading their cues and taking turns. These simple social strategies are learnt while having fun, and if someone oversteps the mark and feels ‘hurt’ or unhappy, the other person repairs the relationship by watching for signals and saying sorry.
And that’s part of life.
Fitness
Bonding
Roughhousing reinforces the relationship. Often it’s dad who gets down and roughhouses, offering the opportunity for learning, having fun and bonding.
So if you start to feel concerned watching this rough and tumble play, remember that it’s gold to your child’s developing brain and emotions.
The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article/post are those of the author and do not necesssarily reflect the official policy or position of Woolworths or any of its affiliates, directors, officers, employees and/or advisors.