Cohousing is a fantastic opportunity for young families to grow and live in a beautiful close-knit community. For children, it can be a fantastic place to make easy friends and develop their social skills as they age. There’s plenty of benefits for kids and young families in cohousing that we’ve come up with today.
Lifelong Friends
If the pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our social bonds form a crucial part of our wellbeing and health. Even without the pandemic, it can be difficult for children to form relationships among their peers. Early development benefits greatly from stable relationships. Cohousing can provide children with opportunities to make friends and playmates that they can see every day. Cohousing allows parents a piece of mind as the children and their families aren’t strangers to them. It’s a win for both children and their parents.
Safety in Play
Cohousing allows children to have a safe space to play. Having a secure space and familiar surroundings is a huge benefit to both children and parents. Children build trust with other kids and they can enjoy themselves safely. An added benefit to cohousing is that there could be a rotating schedule for supervising adults and you won’t have to worry about strangers.
Freedom In Play
Children need to play in order to build their skills both developmentally and socially. Informal play is important for negotiation skills and being able to learn social cues. Sometimes, children need to be left to themselves in order to build their games together and develop their imagination. Supervised play can be a detriment to this skill.
Conflict Resolution For Kids
Conflict is normal no matter what age you are. Children will always push the rules and will inevitably end up in conflict with other children. Cohousing allows children to practice their conflict resolution by being a safe space and having trusted adults around. Unlike a normal playground where children can avoid conflict, a cohousing situation will force children to eventually confront the issue. But this is an important skill for them to learn.
Cohousing brings so many benefits to children and young families. While cohousing is still new for many, it is gaining popularity. Find out more about cohousing in Toronto.