An investigation of the status of outdoor play

Children spend less time playing outdoors than their mothers did when they were young

In this study, Clements surveyed over 800 mothers in the United States to explore the extent to which children in the early 2000s played outdoors as compared to a generation earlier when the mothers interviewed were children themselves. In analyzing the survey results, the author found that children in the early 2000s, as compared to a generation ago: 1) spend less time playing outdoors; 2) participate in different activities outdoors (e.g., fewer street games and more organized youth sports); and 3) participate in more indoor than outdoor play activities. In her survey, Dr. Clements also asked mothers about obstacles to outdoor play and their thoughts regarding the benefits of outdoor play. She found that while almost all mothers recognized some of the diverse benefits of outdoor play, obstacles such as television, computers, and concerns about crime, safety, and injury prevented their children from participating in more outdoor play.