Kids who spend more time on adventurous activities to play that involve an element of risk have fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression, according to research that found the effect was more pronounced among children from low-income families.
The study set out to test theories that adventurous play — climbing trees, riding a bike, jumping from high surfaces, or playing out of sight of adults — offer learning opportunities that help build resilience in children and protect mental health.
The researchers surveyed two samples of parents of children aged 5 to 11 (427 parents in Northern Ireland and a nationally representative group of 1,919 parents in England, Wales and Scotland) and asked them about their children’s mood. . to playtheir mental health before the pandemic and their state of mind during the first confinement due to Covid-19.
They found that children who spent more time playing outdoors had fewer “internalizing problems,” which are characterized as anxiety and depression, and were also more positive during the first lockdown.
The effects were relatively small but consistent after accounting for a number of demographic variables, including the child’s gender and age, as well as parental employment status and mental health. The larger sample also found that the association was stronger for children from low-income families than for their peers from wealthier backgrounds.
As a result, the study authors call on planning authorities to ensure that all children, especially those from disadvantaged families who cannot afford additional organized adventure experiences, have free access to safe outdoor play space. close to your home.
The study, Child’s Play: Examining the Association Between Time Spent Playing and Child Mental Health, published in the journal Child Psychiatry & Human Development, comes at a time when child psychologists are concerned that children have fewer opportunities for out-of-sight adventurous play. from adults, that Covid has limited games and playgrounds have been sanitized for fear of litigation.
Helen Dodd, professor of child psychology at the University of Exeterwho led the study, said: “We are more concerned than ever about children’s mental health, and our findings highlight that we could help protect children’s mental health by ensuring they have plenty of opportunities for adventurous play.
“This is really positive because the game is free, instinctive and rewarding for children, accessible to everyone and does not require special skills. Now we urgently need to invest in and protect wilderness, well-designed parks and adventure parks to support our children’s mental health.”
In July, one of Europe’s largest indoor playgrounds will open in Wetherby, Yorkshire, promising a new and challenging experience for children. The £3.5m Playhive at Stockeld Park features a series of interconnected, themed adventure zones in a doughnut-shaped building with a 10-metre (33 ft) tower in the centre.
Its creator, Peter Grant, said: “We didn’t want the usual bland game scene, but one that really inspired the imagination. The idea is that kids of all ages can do most of it, but some of it is more challenging for older kids.”
Belinda Kirk, explorer, mother and author of Adventure Revolution: The Life-Changing Power of Choosing the Challenge, welcomed the University of Exeter’s findings on adventure play.
“There is this incredibly normal instinct to want to protect your children, which I have in abundance. But we live in a world that is so obsessed with physical safety that we have forgotten to balance it with mental health. We have prioritized physical safety or physical health over mental health, so we are not allowing children to fall down and learn to get up again and therefore develop coping mechanisms and resilience.”
Previous investigation found that elementary-age children are not allowed to play outside on their own until they are two years older than their parents’ generation. While their parents were allowed to play outside unsupervised at the average age of nine, children today are 11 years old when they reach the same milestone.
free family adventures
1 Go for a walk in the dark. Carry a torch to make it more fun. “Doing it at night makes it even more exciting, because even familiar environments, like a trail near your house, feel different. It smells different, the wildlife is different, it’s a real adventure,” says Kirk.
2 Go for a night cycle.
3 Explore the woods alone or with a friend.
4 Camp overnight. “Sleeping under the stars is a very exciting thing,” says Kirk. “Even in your backyard.”
5 Go swimming or rowing in a river or lake.
6 Geocache. It is a treasure hunt. Simply get the app, create an account, choose your geocache from the millions available (there are over 8,000 in London alone), and you’re good to go.
7 Climb a local mountain or hill. “Getting to the top of your first mountain is a wonderful thing,” says Kirk. “It could be Snowden, with your parents, or a hill near your house.”
8 Try new skills on a skateboard, roller blades, or bike.
9 Create an obstacle course inside or outside.
10 Take a river walk from the fountain to the sea. Choose from the 220-mile-long Severn Way from mid-Wales to the Bristol Channel for the very ambitious, or the 71-mile Ribble Way or the 42-mile Sussex Ouse Valley Way, among others.
