Free Time and It’s Importance to Child Development

As time goes on, it almost seems like we are running out of time in our days. This is true of our children. Many of these children participate in sports or extracurricular activities, on top of school and other responsibilities. 

In an age where time seems to be running out, we tend to take time away from the things that we enjoy and are optional and place that time into places that are productive, yet draining. Perhaps we push this burden onto our children, too. However, children who are able to enjoy free time reap huge benefits, and camp has shown us how.

If you ask any camper at Swift Nature Camp what their favorite activity time is, nearly every single one would say free time. We tell the staff that all day we play offense, but free time is defense. Rather than making the decisions for the kids, we allow them to do any activity within defined boundaries for as long as they want for about an hour and a half. 

We position counselors at activities and to roam around camp to make sure everyone is safe and to make sure everyone has a buddy. This freedom of choice usually is not something kids experience anymore, yet there are huge benefits for making sure kids have this time during their day. 

Free time allows children to socially interact with others in a way they normally cannot. They are not restricted to only being with a specific group and can forge new relationships with people they may have never met otherwise. This is an effective teacher for kids to learn how to make friends, what qualities good friends have, and what you like to do with your friends, something that you cannot learn from a book or a screen. On top of this, research has shown “that when children play together, they learn how to take turns, resolve conflicts, and solve problems. They also learn how to manage their own emotions and behavior—fundamental skills for life.” (Terada)

Along with the social benefits, children who have free time have stronger mental development and lower stress. When we rest, we often think that we shut our brain off and not focus on anything too hard. However, there is a very important process that goes on when we rest our brains. Researchers found that this resting mode “is crucial for consolidating memories, reflecting on past experiences, and planning for the future—in other words, it helps shape how we make sense of our lives.”

(Terada) If kids are never given a time to rest and recover, to not think about the activity they are doing and to just be a kid and have fun, they could experience long-term negative impacts and be more stressed. With free time also comes physical activity, as many kids are engaging in activities such as swimming or boating. 

By participating in these activities and getting their blood pumping, children actually change the structure of their brain in a positive way by altering the hippocampus, which is basically the brain’s headquarters for learning and memory. Active children have also been shown to have “improved attention and memory, increased brain activity and cognitive function, and enhanced mood and ability to cope with stress.” (Teranda)

Free time at camp has shown why free time should be more important all the time. This time benefits children’s social, physical, and mental development, giving them a good foundation to build on for the rest of their lives. With COVID-19 this past summer, we saw the direct impacts of a lack of free time at camp. We worried that free time would allow for possible spreading of the virus between cabins, so we decided to put free time on pause until we were certain that no one was sick. 

This time was hard for the campers who were used to free time. They complained that they wanted to other activities with friends from other cabins, and seemed to be much more drained. Each session, when we announced that free time was going to happen again, it almost seemed like all the troubles melted away. Free time matters, and it is important that we give our children choices, because one day far into the future, they will make choices, and we want to make sure they know how to make the right ones.