Teenage Bonding and the Impact of Safe Recreational Spaces

A group of friends about to make a jump into the foam pit | Photo: Upbeat Centre

How group fun can promote healthy teenage relationships

Ever met a teenager?

They are as into themselves as humanly possible. To a teenager, their problems are the only problems and their problems are the most important problems. While this is great for self awareness, when not navigated properly, you can have a teenager that would miss out on building lifelong friendships and a teenager that has poor communication skills. Studies have shown that strong teen friendships can be leveraged for success in adulthood and this is among the many reasons at Upbeat, we encourage parents to create safe spaces for teenage friendships to blossom.

Safe recreational spaces like parks, play houses, and a trampoline centre like we have at the Upbeat Recreational Centre play a vital role in providing teenagers with opportunities for group fun. This goes ahead to foster a sense of community, a sense of belonging and promotes healthy relationships and peer to peer learning. From our in-house experts, here are the various ways group fun can positively impact teenage bonding and ensure a well rounded adult emerges.

1. In building Communication skills: The home and the school are places where teenager’s communication is limited by rules, family interest and already established connections. When teenagers indulge in group fun, they learn to strategize within themselves, it encourages them to build skills in problem solving, conflict resolution, respectful communication among their peers, and a strong sense of advocacy. In this study, physiologists draw a line between play therapy and improved social interactions. It is established that play therapy improves self-expression, self-efficacy and self-actualization among adolescents.
2. Creating a sense of belonging: whether in joining clubs or football or rock climbing teams, recreational play provides a sense of belonging where kids are accepted and valued. There is an equal playing field not influenced by academic performance and they are introduced to people who share similar interests with them.
3. Developing social confidence: group play encourages teenagers to explore their strengths and take advantage of it. They learn the things about them that are unique and how to leverage these in problem solving and leadership. It improves critical thinking and encourages teenagers to contribute their best to achieving a common goal.
4. Encouraging diversity and inclusion: Recreational spaces provide the opportunity for teenagers from various backgrounds to come together to share each other’s experiences and backgrounds with each other. They are exposed to new thought processes, cultures and ways of life. They learn to appreciate the diversity of their environment and the challenges that are unique to gender, class and race. We often have children from various ethnicities and races at the centre, and we are committed to promoting inclusion and diversity at our centre.
5. Promoting emotional well-being: Group fun helps teenagers release stress. It elevates their moods, encourages emotional sharing, and eradicates the feeling of loneliness or isolation. If you’re worried about a teenager who always stays away from sitting with the family at home, group fun can encourage them to open up with their friends and provide a conversation starter during family time. The teenagers get the chance to build positive memories, and moments of laughter and joy with their peers.
6. So to conclude, we would like to highlight that the development of social skills is so important to ensuring we have a teenager who grows up to be a well balanced adult and safe recreational spaces play an important role in providing opportunities for group fun. These spaces facilitate social development, bring positive impact and can influence teenage relationships in various aspects, but most importantly, they are an investment that provide an opportunity to forge lasting healthy bonds that shape their lives. At Upbeat we are committed to ensuring healthy lives and promoting well-being at all ages.

So what are your plans for the summer?

Did you make plans to have group fun?

We hope you did and we hope our rock climbing pit is involved in it.

#Stay Upbeat and stick around our channels to keep learning about children and family development through fun and how Upbeat is championing this.