Benefts of outdoor play for children and parents
Alastair Seaman of Grounds for Learning describes how
natural playgrounds are good for children and parents
February 2011
Hiding in the bushes, making mud pies, creating twig sculptures
and tree climbing - it's all child's play. Yet, according to
researchers, it's much more. Playing regularly outside in childhood
boosts physical activity, stimulates creativity and develops social
skills. It helps create an appreciation of the natural world, can
relieve stress, develop resilience and bring learning to life - and
it's a lot of fun!
Playing outside is also great for parents and families. Parents
report that when their children play outside more they tend to eat
well, sleep better and be less irritable. Playing outside as a
family can be a great, low-cost way of enjoying quality time
together.
So, why does this generation of children spend less than half
the time playing outside than their parents did? In part, it's due
to the rise of screen-based play, but it's also because children do
not have the same freedom to play and roam outside that their
parents did, largely due to fears about traffic, 'stranger danger'
and anti-social behaviour.
There are no easy answers to these challenges, but one way of
helping our children to enjoy more outdoor play in natural spaces
is to make more use of a valuable outdoor space at the heart of
every community - the local school playground. Although there are
some good examples, many Scottish children grow up in uninspiring
asphalt playgrounds with limited opportunities for natural
play.
Most of our Northern European neighbours place a much stronger
emphasis on the importance of year-round outdoor play in natural
spaces. Twenty years ago, an escalation in playground violence in
Berlin led to a radical transformation of the city's school
playgrounds - from flat asphalt yards to green naturalistic play
gardens.
During break times, children can happily hide from adults,
clamber over rocks, build dens in bushes and dam streams. After
school and during the weekend, they can do the same as the space
becomes a public play space, often attracting parents who meet up
to socialise after school while their children play. It is common
for parents to play an active role in developing and managing these
community play spaces. For example, one school organised a monthly
community work day, complete with picnic or barbecue in the summer
months, which attracted around 60 parents.
Twenty years on, playground violence has almost disappeared,
teachers report that behaviour in class has improved and although
there has been an increase in minor accidents, major accidents have
decreased.
Is it too big a leap to imagine this kind of scenario in
Scotland? Perhaps not, according to the results of a survey of
parents published in December by the Scottish Parent Teacher
Council. The survey revealed overwhelming parental support for
better school playgrounds, greater opportunities for 'risky play',
more opportunities for wet weather and snow play, a high degree of
tolerance for wet and muddy clothes and support for shrubby spaces
for children to hide from adult supervisors. Parents also indicated
high levels of willingness to help their local school, through
fundraising and contributing their own ideas, expertise and
labour.
Why not pester or support your school to make more of its
playgrounds? Grounds for Learning is a Scottish charity that
supports parents, teachers and pupils to develop school playgrounds
into natural, active, sociable and fun spaces that communities can
enjoy and be proud of. GfL's annual event on March 11 near Perth
will showcase a range of simple and effective ways of doing this.
GfL also offers advisory visits, training courses and resources.
Find out more at www.gflscotland.org
or phone 01259 220 887.
More information: Alastair Seaman, Grounds for
Learning programme manager aseaman@ltl.org.uk