The importance of playing in soil

The importance of playing in soil For years, the advice from midwives and older generations was to let children get muddy. But was this sound advice, or just an ‘old wives’ tale’ with no substance? In the last half a…

The importance of playing in soil

For years, the advice from midwives and older generations was to let children get muddy. But was this sound advice, or just an ‘old wives’ tale’ with no substance?

In the last half a century, we’ve seen the appearance of more chemical cleaners, antibacterial wipes and claims of cleaning products being able to kill all known germs. Not only are our children being subjected to harm from these chemicals, but they are also growing up in an overly-sanitised community, where they don’t build up an early, natural resistance to germs.

World Soil Day is held annually on December 5^th and focuses on the importance of healthy and sustainable soil resources.

What are the benefits of playing in soil?

Soil play has been scientifically proven to help to boost our children’s immune system, reduce stress and improve their physical health. It’s also a great way for children to have fun! There are numerous ways to introduce playing in soil, from wading through it in wellies, to digging and making mud pies.

How does playing in soil help to boost our children’s immune system?

Studies have been carried out, which clearly show the proven benefits to the immune system of playing in mud from an early age and encountering friendly microorganisms.

‘According to recent research, the dirt outside is teaming with friendly microorganisms that can train the immune system and build resilience to a range of illnesses, including allergies, asthma and even depression and anxiety.’ (BBC)

The benefits are believed to come from exposure to microbes on children’s skin, as well as in their guts.

‘Children whose outdoor play areas were transformed from gravel yards to mini-forests showed improved immune systems within a month, research has shown. The scientists believe this is because the children had developed significantly more diverse microbes on their skin and in their guts than the children whose playgrounds were not upgraded.’ (The Guardian)

How can soil play help with stress reduction?

Playing in soil is fun! Watch children playing in a mud kitchen to see the delight on their faces, as they make and then serve up mud soup; stirring the gloopy, muddy water on the pretend hob, then pouring it from the pan into a bowl.

Having fun can unlock feel-good hormones, such as serotonin, which can help to improve mood and release stress.

Being outdoors in the natural environment can help to release stress for some children who have ADHD or autism, away from man-made or heavily populated environments, which can be overly stimulating.

How is playing with soil as a child, beneficial for improved physical health?

According to a recent BBC article:

‘People who grow up on farms are generally less likely to develop asthma, allergies, or auto-immune disorders like Crohn’s disease – thanks, apparently, to their childhood exposure to a more diverse range of organisms in the rural environment that had encouraged more effective regulation of the immune system.’ (BBC)

Playing outdoors has other health benefits too, such as increased Vitamin D from the sunshine, exposure to fresh air and larger spaces to run around in.

Practical ways to introduce soil play

Playing in mud can be educational as well as fun.

It can be used to increase children’s motor skills, develop their senses, help them with mathematical concepts and help with their language development.

Here are some of our suggestions:

Gardening – grow fruit and vegetables with your children
Build mud castles or mud pies and decorate them with pebbles
Create a mud kitchen, using old pots, crockery and cutlery
Dress in waterproofs or old clothes and wellies and jump in some muddy puddles (anyone else picturing TV favourites Peppa Pig and George right now?)
Go for a walk and look for animal footprints in the mud, look at the trail that you’ve left behind you and compare your own boot prints with your children’s
Look for and identify creatures that live in the soil
Fill two buckets, one with dry soil and one with wet soil. Hide objects in the buckets for children to feel around for. Can they describe what they have found, without looking, using words like smooth or rough, large or small, straight or rounded edges, etc? Can they guess which objects they have found?
Walk barefoot in the mud, feeling the soil underfoot and between their toes
Create a landscape on a tray, forming hills and valleys from the mud and playing with their toy dinosaurs or farm animals on there
Use a stick to draw letters, numbers or pictures in the mud, or create pictures using twigs, grass and stones

Finally, why let the children have all the fun? Wade, paddle, jump and play in the mud with them! It’s great for bonding, stress release and letting go of inhibitions.