Why jumping on a trampoline is good for kids
Jumping and landing with both feet on the ground is a milestone accomplished by children around 24 months (2 years) of age. Having a trampoline in your yard provides kids with a daily opportunity to hone and practice their jumping skills in a controlled and safe environment. Jumping on a trampoline is an excellent way to help develop their gross motor skills and maintain their overall physical health and well being.
What are the health benefits of jumping on a trampoline for kids?
Jumping develops muscle strength
Jumping requires strength and power to take off and safely land. This helps build your child’s muscles which also encourages healthy bone growth.
Jumping develops a healthy heart
Jumping is a cardiovascular workout for your kids! This means your kids are increasing their heart rate, getting their bodies moving and increasing their fitness levels.
Jumping on a trampoline improves your child’s coordination
Jumping requires the coordination of many different parts of the body working together at the same time, including the legs, feet, core and arms.
Jumping improves your child’s balance and vestibular system
To safely and effectively land a jump, your child is honing their balance skills while also developing a strong vestibular system.
Regulation of Energy:
Many individuals with autism may have high energy levels or difficulty regulating their activity levels. Jumping on a trampoline provides a constructive outlet for excess energy, helping to reduce hyperactivity and promote relaxation.
Sensory Integration:
Engaging in activities on a trampoline involves integrating multiple sensory inputs, including visual, vestibular, and proprioceptive feedback. This can help individuals with autism improve their sensory processing abilities over time, leading to better self-regulation and increased comfort in various environments.
Jumping on a trampoline requires cognitive learning
Through practicing their jumps, your child will learn through trial and error how to perfect their jump. With practice, they may even learn some cool tricks such as somersaults and gymnastics skills. Jumping on a trampoline requires your child to judge distance, use spatial reasoning skills and identify what their body can and can’t do.
Regular Trampoline use improves your child’s jumping skills
Jumping is an integral part of child play. Your child will improve their jumping skills as a result of regular trampoline jumping. This will make them more confident in other games, activities and sports where jumping is required. So many sports require their participants to jump with height and/or agility. By practising their jumping skills on the trampoline, they are more like to excel in jumping-based sports such as basketball, football, netball, volleyball and high jump. Other schoolyard activities, such as skipping ropes, hopscotch and playing on the playground require lots of jumping too.
Why is an outdoor sensory zone such as a trampoline helpful for children with ADHD or autism?
An outdoor sensory zone, such as a trampoline, can be particularly beneficial for children with ADHD or autism for several reasons:
Sensory Regulation:
Children with ADHD or autism often have sensory processing difficulties. Outdoor sensory activities, like bouncing on a trampoline, provide proprioceptive and vestibular input, which can help regulate sensory processing and improve focus and attention.
Physical Exercise:
Regular physical activity is essential for all children, but it's especially important for those with ADHD or autism. Bouncing on a trampoline provides a fun and engaging way to get exercise, promoting gross motor skills development and overall physical health.
Energy Release:
Children with ADHD or autism may have excess energy or difficulty regulating their activity levels. Outdoor sensory zones, such as trampolines, provide an outlet for them to release pent-up energy in a safe and constructive manner, which can help reduce hyperactivity and improve self-regulation. This can prevent or manage meltdowns.
Stress Relief:
Outdoor play, including activities like bouncing on a trampoline, can help reduce stress and anxiety in children with ADHD or autism. The rhythmic bouncing motion can have a calming effect on the nervous system, promoting relaxation and emotional well-being.
Social Interaction:
Trampolines and other outdoor sensory zones can be a social activity, allowing children to play and interact with peers or family members. This promotes social skills development, such as turn-taking, cooperation, and communication, in a fun and inclusive environment.
Sensory Integration:
Engaging in outdoor sensory activities encourages the integration of sensory inputs, including visual, auditory, vestibular, and proprioceptive feedback. This can help children with ADHD or autism improve their sensory processing abilities over time, leading to better self-regulation and increased comfort in various environments.
A safe outdoor space:
Is crucial for children with ADHD and autism because it provides a controlled environment where they can engage in activities that promote sensory regulation, physical exercise, stress relief, social interaction, and sensory integration in a safe place. These children often struggle with sensory processing difficulties, excess energy, and social challenges, and an outdoor sensory space offers opportunities to address these needs in a supportive and inclusive manner. By providing a designated area equipped with sensory-friendly features and supervised by caregivers or professionals, children with ADHD and autism can benefit from engaging outdoor play that enhances their overall well-being, development, and quality of life.
Overall, outdoor sensory zones like trampolines offer a wide range of benefits for children with ADHD or autism, including sensory regulation, physical exercise, stress relief, social interaction, and sensory integration. However, it's essential to ensure that these activities are supervised and tailored to the individual needs of each child.
A trampoline helps your kids use up restless energy
If we have been stuck indoors too long and my kids are getting restless, I send them outside for a quick trampoline jump. This is the perfect way to use up energy and takes away any feelings of frustration, stress or anxiety.
Jumping on a trampoline will Improve your child's mood
Jumping uses up energy which results in the release of endorphins. Endorphins are “feel good” hormones which promote a feeling of happiness, relaxation and stress-release.
A Trampoline in the home encourages a healthy lifestyle for the family
By having a trampoline in your yard, you are providing an opportunity for your kids to take part in daily physical activity and active play. It's also a great way for the family to spend time together and feel connected.
