Study finds outdoor play has positive effect on children’s social and emotional skills
One in three children do not play outdoors after school and a fifth do not at the weekend, according to research that found outdoor play has a beneficial impact on young people’s developing social and emotional skills.
The University of Exeter study looked at data from 2,500 children between sevenand 12 from the multiethnic Born in Bradford research programme, which tracks the health, development and wellbeing of mothers and children from pregnancy onwards.
Based on information from questionnaires completed by the children’s parents, researchers measured the social-emotional skills of the children using the “total difficulties score”, a screening tool that can help identify potential behavioural or emotional issues in children and young people.
Researchers found outdoor play had a positive effect on children’s social-emotional skills, meaning they were better able to understand, manage and express their emotions and behaviours, as well as interact with the world around them and build relationships.
