Nearly two thirds of parents (62.7%) feel there are greater dangers for children playing outside now than when they were kids, a new study on behalf of the Make Time 2 Play campaign has found.
The study of 2,000 parents was carried out by OnePoll.com, and found that the top five concerns were increase in traffic (56.85%), stranger danger (55.15%), inability to monitor children’s activities (38.95%), getting involved in or being confronted by gangs (38.65%) and outdoor play prevents children from studying (18.65%).
Only 14.85% of all parents in the study say their children play outside more than they did. One third (33.65%) think the amount is roughly the same.
However, Make Time 2 Play ambassador, Dr Linda Papadopoulos believes that outdoor play is one essential ingredient in a varied play ‘diet’ for children.
"A varied play diet encompasses structured, unstructured, supervised and unsupervised playtime," she said. "Outdoor play is a vital component of that, helping children to build friendships, solve problems and explore the world around them."
However, the study also demonstrated that parents are, on the while, aware that their children need time outdoors, with 38.5% concerned that their children do not play outside enough.
"Parents do lots of great things with their children," Dr Papadopoulos continued. "But it’s also vitally important for their development that they are allowed to run around with their friends outside on a regular basis."