“Play in and of itself has a therapeutic effect on children,” says environmental psychologist Fredrika Mårtensson at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences at Alnarp. “And they play differently outside. The games are more open and flexible, and it’s easier for them to organize the situation in a way that’s beneficial to them physically, socially, and psychologically.” Some of the cognitive skills that are honed through play are decision making, problem solving, and abstract thinking.
