Children missing out on adventurous outdoor play – study

Today’s children are 11 by the time they are allowed to play outside unsupervised, which is two years later than their parents, according to the study.

In Scotland, however, children are allowed out on average more than a year before those in Wales and all regions of England. And children living in towns and the fringes of urban areas also have more freedom to go out unsupervised at a younger age. 

In April 2020, researchers asked more than 1,900 parents of five- to-11-year-olds about their normal children’s play before Covid-19 restrictions, as part of the British Children’s Play Survey, the largest study of its kind. 

They found that reasons for the shift in being able to go out unsupervised were mainly due to concerns about stranger danger and the increase in traffic in neighbourhoods where children live and play.

Many of the parents who took part in the study were relatively risk adverse in relation to their children’s play, the paper states, and these attitudes corresponded with the age children were allowed out to play independently and the amount of ‘adventurous’ play that children were engaging in.

Climbing trees or riding a bike fast downhill are examples of typical adventurous outdoor play; whereas trampoline parks and indoor play centres provide the same level of thrill indoors. It believed that engaging in adventurous play may help to prevent anxiety in children.

Helen Dodd, professor of child psychology at the University of Reading, who led the study, said that the concerns surrounding this report are twofold. ‘First, we are seeing children getting towards the end of their primary school years without having had enough opportunities to develop their ability to assess and manage risk independently. Second, if children are getting less time to play outdoors in an adventurous way, this may have an impact on their mental health and overall well-being.’

Primary school children are also, on average, getting just three hours of play a day over the course of a year, with around half of play taking place outside. The findings matched previous studies which suggest that children play less as they get older.

The team of child psychologists from the University of Reading are looking at the relationship between risk-taking in play and the benefits for children’s mental health. Their findings suggest that although children are spending a reasonable amount of time outside, they may be missing out on many of the freedoms, particularly to explore and play in an adventurous way, that previous generations enjoyed.  

Dr Dodd said, ‘We can see that playgrounds and green areas are critical spaces for children’s play, particularly outdoor, adventurous play. It is therefore crucial that all children have access to spaces like these for their development and well-being. Providing the spaces is not enough though, urban planning must take into account how children and families will travel to and access these spaces and they need to be engaging and interesting places for children’s play.’

Tim Gill, independent scholar, global advocate for children's play and mobility and author of Urban Playground: How child-friendly planning and design can save cities, said, ‘Thanks to the pandemic, we all know what lockdown feels like. This groundbreaking study shows that British children have been subject to a gradual, creeping lockdown over at least a generation. The reasons are different, with social changes, safety fears, technology and traffic growth all arguably playing a part. However, the end result for all too many children is the same: boredom, isolation, inactivity, and poorer mental and physical health. The consequences for their development and well-being should not be underestimated.’

Anita Grant, chair of Play England, said, ‘Play outdoors is fundamentally important for children to develop a sense of self and a relationship with the world around them. Adults protective instincts are not helpful when they restrict and control exploration, creativity and a child’s natural instinct to engage with their environment freely. Children need to learn how to risk assess and make good decisions. Play is the way that children grow and develop, building experiences and skills that will make them resilient and for this they need time, space and freedom.’

Where children play

Aside from children’s and friend’s garden, playgrounds are the most popular spaces for outdoor play at least once a week, closely followed by green spaces, and they are also the third most adventurous place for children’s play.

Chair of the Association of Play Industries (API), Mark Hardy, said, ‘The study confirms the essential role that public play areas have in the physical and mental health of children. Playgrounds are vital community assets which have a significant impact on children’s health and well-being. Recent years have seen a sharp decline in the number of playgrounds. These community spaces are hugely under-funded and hundreds are disappearing.  There is now an urgent need for sustained investment in a UK-wide network of playgrounds to protect and enhance children’s health.’

Shrewsbury Town Council has conducted research showing a dramatic rise in footfall in public play facilities over the course of the pandemic, demonstrating how important these assets are to children and local communities. 

The Society of Local Council Clerks, which represents the chief officers to over 5,000 town, parish and community councils, is calling on the Government to recognise the importance of play in exercise; provide financial support for shared public spaces and long-term legacy funding for parks and playgrounds.
A growing number of leading academics are also calling for children to be placed at the heart of the nation’s recovery post-pandemic, with experts calling for a ‘summer of play’.

Mr Hardy said, ‘There has never been a time when playgrounds have been so important. They are key in helping children to recover from a year of restrictions which have forced them indoors. The Government’s pledges to "Build back better" and "Level up" must include children, with investment in a sustainable national network of public play spaces before hundreds more are lost for good. For children living in the most disadvantaged areas and those in the 1 in 8 UK households without gardens, playgrounds are their lifeline.’

• The full study is available here