Benefits of Play Tunnels

Author: Austin Stanfel

When designing a playground, it is important to consider the multiple pieces of equipment that will be installed. In choosing the items to be selected, it’s a good idea to take into account the pros and cons of having that item placed in your playground. One way to do this is to calculate the risks, as well as pay attention to the sorts of benefits that can be provided from that one piece. In terms of playground equipment, a trendy selection would be play tunnels. This piece is multi functional and allows for endless fun, along with various other health benefits.

Uses

There is an endless pool of imagination within a child’s mind. What may be a simple play tunnel to adults is not how the child views it. Using a play tunnel will allow you to provide children with a tool to express their more creative side and turn a play tunnel into any object they desire. Aside from this, there are other uses that having this item allows for. When designing the play tunnel, you can customize it to any color or hue of your choosing. This can be fitting to school or community colors, which will then encourage children to play there. You can also change the tunnel structure by connecting it to other playground pieces, making this single item quite diverse in its abilities.

Benefits

Everyone is familiar with the multiple benefits that can be derived from having an active child who goes out a lot versus one who prefers to stay indoors and not participate in that active lifestyle. But when it comes to the benefits offered through the use of a play tunnel, the list goes on and on.

● Exercise: Having this form of equipment in your playground allows a child to exercise separately from all other types of available equipment by enhancing their physical activity.

● Balance and Coordination: By letting the child climb to the top of the slide, find a way to position themselves, and then slide down promotes their overall motor skills and spatial awareness through determining when the right time to slide will be and when to put their feet down in order to land successfully.

● Increase in Flexibility: Climbing to the top of the tunnel and stretching their legs out to stop from sliding more increases muscle and overall flexibility in the child.

● Social Development: Being such a popular commodity to install into a playground and amongst the kids, as lots of children gather to play with the tunnel, knowledge in proper social etiquette will start to develop. It will teach kids lessons in taking turns, patience and tolerance, and playing fairly also.

● Fun: Aside from all the other positive effects, the most important, of course, would be that the kids have a fun way to play. They can hide in the tunnel, move around it, and turn it into anything they desire with the use of a little imagination.