A shocking number of children does not play outside

For many of us, adults, the time spent running in our neighborhoods or suspending swings in the playground was a highlight of our childhood. However, children often can’t say as much. New research shows that a substantial proportion of children do not play outside at all, even on weekends.

Scientists at the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom have found that around a third of children said they did not play outside after school, while one in five said they hadn’t played outside on weekends. Children who ventured outside most often also tended to have better social and emotional stability.

“Outdoor game is essential for the growth and development of children and our observation that many children do not regularly engage in the outdoor game are disturbing because it is linked to various health problems, including obesity, anxiety and depression,” said principal researcher Mark Ferguson, a social-environmental epidemiologist to Exeter, in a statement from the university.

The gaming gap

The authors examined the data of an existing project, the study “Born in Bradford”. Since 2007, the project has kept an eye on around 13,000 children born in a single hospital in the city – as well as their families – in the hope of unraveling the greatest factors behind a happy and healthy life.

The researchers focused on a subset of 2,568 children aged 7 to 12, analyzing the responses of surveys filled with children and their parents.

All in all, 34% of children said they did not play outside on weekdays and 20% said they did not play outside on weekends. And on the basis of their parents’ responses, the more the children played outside, the better their socio-emotional skills were on average. Children with these skills are more able to clearly express their emotions or to establish positive relationships with others.

The study was published last week in the journal Wellbeing Space and Society.

The results of the team are limited to children in the United Kingdom, but they line up with other research carried out elsewhere. A study in 2023 revealed that almost 40% of American preschool children played less than an hour during the week, while 24% played less than an hour outside on weekends, for example. Many studies have also followed a regular drop in unstructured playing times dating back decades in children in the United States and other countries.

Why playing is important

The game has all kinds of advantages for children (and adults, by the way). He can promote regular physical activity, strengthen or encourage new friendships and help children learn to sail in the world around them. Conversely, the lack of playing time for children could have all kinds of negative health impacts, according to the researchers.

“This study shows how important it is for the mental health of children to get out of their screens and play outside after school and the weekend,” said the author of the study Rosie McEachan, director of the Born in Bradford project.

Make playing time as possible

In addition to asking children to move away from their screens, researchers say that others should be made to create districts accessible on foot and other public spaces so that they can play.

“We are lucky in Bradford to have many beautiful parks and green spaces, but these results show that the local streets in which we live are an equally important space for children, and we must ensure that they are safe and welcoming spaces, exempt from traffic and pollution,” added McEachan.

It’s easier to say than to do, however. Earlier this year, the project of public spaces published a survey of city planners and other professionals in 57 countries involved in the creation, maintenance or improvement of public spaces. Only 5% of participants estimated that their local public spaces met the needs of their community. Other studies have shown that even major cities in the United States are less accessible on average than their international counterparts.