Playing outdoors does much more than tire children out. It is one of the best ways children develop their motor skills. Climbing, running, balancing, and jumping train both gross and fine motor skills in a way that no sports lesson or app can match. In this article, we explain why playing outdoors is so important for children's motor development, what skills they acquire in the process, and how to get them outside more often.
What is motor development in children?
Motor development in children is the process by which children gain increasingly better control over their body movements. This includes both gross motor skills (large muscle groups such as walking, jumping and climbing) as fine motor skills (small precision movements such as writing, cutting, and tying shoelaces). This development begins at birth and continues into the teenage years.
Gross motor skills develop fastest in early childhood. Children first learn to crawl, then walk, then run, and eventually more complex movements, such as riding a bicycle or balancing on a narrow surface. Fine motor skills follow a similar path but require more targeted practice and repetition. Both forms of motor skills are closely connected and reinforce each other.
Why is playing outdoors important for motor skills?
Playing outdoors is important for motor skills because it automatically challenges children to move in unplanned, varied ways. Outside, there are bumps, slopes, sand, grass, and other children, which together create a rich movement environment that simply cannot be replicated indoors. That variety is exactly what motor skills need to develop properly.
Indoors, children often move on flat, predictable surfaces. Outdoors, they must constantly adapt: dodging a stone, running up a slope, jumping over something. This constantly demands balance, coordination, and spatial awareness. These are precisely the skills that stimulate motor development. Furthermore, playing outdoors offers the freedom to take risks in a safe way, which increases self-confidence and body control.
Which motor skills do children develop through playing outdoors?
Through outdoor play, children develop a wide range of motor skills, from balance and coordination to strength and spatial awareness. These skills are developed because children are constantly challenged outdoors by the environment and by other children.
Here are the most important motor skills that outdoor play trains:
- Balance: Walking across tree trunks, swinging, and climbing constantly require balance.
- Coordination: Catching, throwing, cycling, and running train hand-eye coordination and body coordination.
- Strength and endurance: Climbing, running, and jumping build muscle strength.
- Spatial awareness: Moving outdoors among other children and obstacles helps children better estimate distances and space.
- Response speed: Games like tag train how quickly children react to changes around them.
All these skills also come in handy in daily life and at school. A child with well-developed motor skills, for example, has less difficulty with writing, gym class, and sports.
How does a pump track help with children's motor development?
A pumptrack aids in children's motor development because the track is specifically designed to train balance, coordination, and body awareness. Due to the varied curves, hills, and slopes, children must constantly shift their weight and adjust their movements. This provides excellent training for both gross motor skills and reaction time.
On a inclusive play area such as a pumptrack Children move on a bicycle, scooter, skateboard, or even in a wheelchair. The track requires rhythm and a sense of movement. Children intuitively learn how to build up speed without pedaling, purely by using their body weight. This requires body awareness and coordination that are less likely to develop on a regular playground.
Moreover, a pumptrack is accessible to all ages and skill levels. A toddler on a balance bike practices their balance, while an older teenager on a BMX works on speed and technique. Everyone moves at their own level, which supports motor development at every stage of life.
How much outdoor playtime do children need per day?
Children need at least one hour of active outdoor playtime per day for healthy motor and physical development. For younger children, up to about six years old, more movement is even better. This time does not have to be continuous: multiple short moments of playing outside count as well.
The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that children aged 5 to 17 get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity daily. Playing outdoors is one of the easiest ways to meet this recommendation, because it naturally leads to active movement without feeling like a sport. Children simply play and, as a result, move more than they realize.
A handy guideline per age group:
- 0 to 2 years: Move freely on the ground as much as possible, crawl and climb.
- 3 to 5 years: At least 3 hours of active physical activity per day, part of which outdoors.
- 6 to 12 years: At least 60 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise, preferably outdoors.
- 13 to 17 years: At least 60 minutes per day, with a focus on strength and endurance.
How do you encourage children to play outside more often?
You encourage children to play outside more often by making the outdoor environment challenging, varied, and socially appealing. Children will go outside on their own if there is something fun to do. A boring sidewalk is less attractive than a playground with variety and challenge.
Practical tips to get children outside more often:
- Make arrangements with other children from the neighborhood so that there is always someone to play with.
- Consciously limit screen time and give outdoor play a fixed place in the daily schedule.
- Go outside with them yourself. Children move more when parents or caregivers are also active.
- Choose a playground that matches the child's level: not too easy and not too difficult.
- Let children choose for themselves what they do outside. Free play is more motivating than a structured activity.
Do you want to know which playgrounds are available in your neighborhood? View our completed projects and discover what is already possible in the Netherlands and Belgium.
How Velosolutions helps with children's motor development
At Velosolutions, we build pumptracks that invite children to move, exercise, and grow. Not as a sports obligation, but simply because it's fun. Our tracks are designed for all ages and skill levels, from the very youngest on balance bikes to the advanced BMX rider.
This is what we offer:
- Permanent asphalt pump tracks that comply with Dutch safety standards (WAS and NEN-EN 14974).
- Custom design, tailored to the space and target audience of your municipality or location.
- Wheelchair-friendly and inclusive designs, so that everyone can participate.
- Annual maintenance, so that the track always remains in top condition.
- Guidance from design to completion and inspection: everything under one roof.
Read more about us and discover how we have already realized more than 500 pumptracks worldwide. Do you want to know what a pumptrack can mean for your municipality or location? Request a no-obligation consultation and we are happy to think along with you.
