Environmental Determinants of Outdoor Play in Children

Abstract

Neighborhood social cohesion was related to outdoor play among children of different age and gender, which makes it a promising point of action for policy development. Policies aimed at improving physical neighborhood characteristics in relation to outdoor play should take into account age and gender of the target population.

The influence of the neighborhood physical environment on early child health and development: A review and call for research

“…Most of these studies examined outdoor play and/or physical activity. Overall, outdoor play and physical activity in the early years was positively associated with neighborhood greenness (Lovasi et al, 2011;Grigsby-Toussaint et al, 2011), access to nature (Fjortoft and Sageie, 2000), green public open space (Taylor et al, 1998;Aarts et al, 2010), parks (Roemmich et al, 2006) and playgrounds (Quigg et al, 2011;Sallis et al, 1993). In an observational study of 262 children aged 3-12 years, levels of play in barren spaces were about half as much as in spaces with trees and grass (Taylor et al, 1998).…”

“…Only three studies examined this relationship (Aarts et al, 2010;Barnett et al, 2012;Marino et al, 2012). One study found that not having a garden at home where children can play resulted in more outdoor play in 4-6 year old Dutch girls (Aarts et al, 2010). In contrast a small Australian study identified that the home outdoor space may be important for providing equipment for facilitating play and physical activity and developing motor skills (Barnett et al, 2012).…”

“…Only one study examined the impact of type of residence on young children's outdoor play. In a large sample (n ¼2173) of 4-6 year olds, Aarts and colleagues reported that living in a flat or apartment was associated with less outdoor play for girls (relative rate (RR)¼0.73; 95%CI ¼0.59-0.89) but not boys (Aarts et al, 2010). Five studies examined the impact of residential density on young children's outdoor play and physical activity (Aarts et al, 2012(Aarts et al, , 2010Frank et al, 2007;Roemmich et al, 2007;Copperman and Bhat, 2007) with three studies showing no association (Aarts et al, 2012(Aarts et al, , 2010Frank et al, 2007) No studies examined the effect of residential density (either high density living or urban sprawl) on domains of early child development.…”

“…Only three studies examined this relationship (Aarts et al, 2010;Barnett et al, 2012;Marino et al, 2012). One study found that not having a garden at home where children can play resulted in more outdoor play in 4-6 year old Dutch girls (Aarts et al, 2010).…”

Behaviour of parents and children in two contrasting urban neighbourhoods: an observational study

“…Most of these use questionnaire methods (e.g. Aarts et al 2010;Bringolf-Isler et al 2010) or diaries (Wen et al 2009), even though the behaviour lends itself to ethological study. Although this literature has established that outdoor play behaviour may be inversely associated with socioeconomic position (Ellaway et al 2007;Aarts et al 2010), this finding has not been linked to social gradients in parenting strategies more generally.…”