Scientists have linked active outdoor games with children's health
Independent outdoor play can be important not only for children's physical activity, but also for their mental well-being, as well as social and cognitive development. At the same time, the excessive desire of adults to protect the child from any potential dangers may limit his ability to explore the world around him and learn from his own experience. About the benefits active games can bring to children and why it is important to find a balance between safety and independence — in the Izvestia article.
Active games have been linked to children's health
An international team of researchers led by specialists from the University of Exeter and the University of British Columbia studied the relationship of active outdoor play with the physical and mental health of children. The study has become the largest international analysis of this topic. The authors reviewed data from 74 studies from around the world on children aged three to 12 years. The results of the work are published in the journal PLOS One.
In the original publication, scientists use the term adventurous play — adventure games that allow a certain degree of risk within established boundaries. The researchers studied different types of games, during which children independently explore the environment and try their hand. Examples include cycling down a hill at high speed, climbing trees, playing by streams, and game brawls.
The researchers assessed six areas: physical health, mental health and well-being, aggressive behavior, social and cognitive development, and the ability to assess risks and injury rates.
Independence helps to move more
According to the results of the review, children who had more opportunities for active outdoor play tended to show better indicators of physical and mental health, as well as social and cognitive development.
The authors also found a link between children's independent mobility and their level of physical activity. Independent mobility means the ability to leave home unaccompanied by adults.
The conditions in which children can play are also important. According to the study, access to suitable environments — such as creatively designed playgrounds and natural spaces — is also associated with better health and development outcomes.
At the same time, the results show exactly the relationship between active games and health indicators. They do not prove that such activities themselves cause improvements.
Why is it important for children to try new things
Helen Dodd, professor at the University of Exeter and director of the Center for Research on Outdoor Play, noted that depriving children of the opportunities familiar to previous generations to explore the world on their own may limit their learning and development.
At the same time, the scientist stressed that the safety of children remains an important task. However, according to her, if adults focus solely on protection and completely exclude the opportunity to explore the boundaries of acceptable risk during games, children may lose useful experiences.
Helen Dodd
It is important to find a balance. It's not about devoting a certain amount of time to risky games, but about making sure that children have opportunities in their lives to play so that they can benefit from risk research. Children should be given the opportunity to organize games on their own and make mistakes.
The causal relationship needs to be studied
The authors of the review emphasized that so far scientists have established a link between active outdoor games and positive health indicators, but they cannot unequivocally state that one directly causes the other.
According to Dodd, further work should help fill this gap, improve the scientific understanding of children's games and determine how to take their importance into account when developing recommendations and approaches to organizing an environment for children.
Thus, the results of the review indicate a link between the ability to play independently outdoors and a number of indicators of health and development. However, further research is needed to better understand this relationship.
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