Over the past year, we’ve written more than a few blog posts about the physical benefits of outdoor play. But what about the emotional/spiritual rewards that come from playing outside?

Professional athletes talk about the lessons they learn on the field, whether they involve teamwork, responsibility or courage.

“While striving to win, children learn about teamwork, leadership and sportsmanship, all of which can contribute to their development as solid citizens,” wrote Stephen D. Keener, president of Little League International, in a New York Times op-ed.

“In organized team sports, children work together to accomplish a task and learn from their mistakes. These lessons directly translate into the classroom and beyond.”

Let’s look at some of the life lessons your children can pick-up on the playing field.

You look out the window and see your child engaged in outdoor play, and all seems right with the world. They’re having the time of their lives, and you can’t imagine anything bothering them.

But as we’ve noted in past outdoor play articles, kids get stressed. They get worried and they get down.

And while no one can be upbeat all the time, there’s something to be said for teaching your kids to be optimistic. It can help them now, and later in life.

When we were growing up, if we didn’t know something, we had to ask an adult or head to the library.

These days, our kids can find out about anything, thanks to the internet. And that sounds pretty good, until you realize your kids can find out about anything.

Our kids are way more tech savvy than we ever were. Our parents had to worry about us watching too much TV, or maybe spending too much time playing video games.

We worry about who our kids are meeting online, what they’re viewing or just whether all their time in a digital domain has left them disconnected from the physical world.