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While indoor games have several benefits (no effects of weather, the kid is right in front of you, many intellectual mobile/video games that are rather impossible as an outdoor game, and so on...), outdoor games are essential to stay physically fit, to be social and above all, to be close to Mother Nature.
At times, I'm confused which type of game I should encourage Rhyme, my 8-year-old daughter to play? She gets very little time from her daily routine to play.
To be honest, it sounds like the concern should be that there is very little time in the routine to play.
Play is essential for children - both physical (running, jumping, dancing, etc) and mental play (board games, computer games, I-Spy etc) so if your difficulty is in fitting that into her routine I would suggest trying to change the routine or all too soon you will find the time for play is gone and you have an adult who has not really had enough childhood - which by all accounts has negative psychological effects.
Don't worry about what type of play - if it is sunny it makes it easier to make the decision to play outside, but it shouldn't matter - just get her playing.
Whatever she wants to do.
Seriously - get her outside, and ask her. She can do whatever she wants, so long as it's outside. (And if she wants you to play with her, you should make the time - she'll only be eight once, after all!)
And that means leaving the schedule a bit open-ended. Maybe she'll doodle with chalk on the sidewalk. Maybe she'll run around the lawn chasing butterflies. Maybe she'll just sit on the grass and watch the clouds and daydream. It's her time.
If her schedule/routine is so regimented that there's "little time" to play, she'll probably be thrilled to make her own choices (once she gets past the OMG-I-have-to-think-for-myself shock!)
