New scheme in Queensland is encouraging outdoor play for children
By Judy Evans
@JudyEv (325255)
Rockingham, Australia
April 23, 2019 7:23pm CST
The Queensland government, in Australia, has designed and run a pilot program to recreate safe outdoor play for children. The downside is that it’s costing $66,000.
Statistics show that 25% of Australian children aged between 5 and 14 are overweight. Less than one in five get 60 minutes of physical activity each day. About a third exceed two-hours screen time a day.
Playing outside has been shown to result in better forward planning skills and insight. Children sleep better and have greater resilience, learning skills involving emotion recognition, communication, team building and problem solving.
The program is called Nature Play and workshops were held over two months to reduce parents’ fears over traffic and child abduction. As a start, families are encouraged to meet their neighbours and hold a local street play day. Hopefully this will lead to walking/riding in the neighbourhood and exploring wild spaces.
It seems gradually the parents back off and the children interact more without so much supervision. The article doesn’t really say how the kids’ safety is maintained. Or how come it is costing so much.
I’ll add a link. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-04-24/outdoor-play-free-range-kids-nature-play-pilot-screen-time/11041350
The photo is of our son enjoying some ‘outdoor time’ 40-odd years ago.
18 people like this
19 responses
@Letranknight2015 (51490)
• Philippines
24 Apr 19
Technology has made people not go outside and gain weight.
4 people like this
@cacay1 (83223)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
28 Apr 19
@Letranknight2015, agree with you, young people this time are victims of their own belief about gadgets.They no longer like to read.Someday there will be many idiots in the streets.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (94717)
• Marion, Ohio
24 Apr 19
Kids do need to get out more. Parents do too.
4 people like this
@snowy22315 (169555)
• United States
24 Apr 19
I think you have less overweight children than we do here. Some people mistakenly think it is not safe for children outside unsupervised..but for the most part it is fine! Kids need some time just to be kids.
2 people like this
@LadyDuck (457249)
• Switzerland
24 Apr 19
We did not stay inside when we were kids. I remember that as soon as we finished our homework, we joined our friends and we played the yard of our apartment complex. Parents should not allow their kids to stay so much in front of a screen... not even the smartphone screen.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (457249)
• Switzerland
25 Apr 19
@JudyEv I was born in Milan (Italy), it is a cold city. We lived in front of the bigger park of Milan. Even in winter our grandmother brought us there to play with the other kids. We wore warm clothing, but we did not stay inside. My parents never turned the TV on until after we had finished our dinner.
2 people like this
@SophiaMorros (5046)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
24 Apr 19
I spent many hours outside providing supervision for my children's outdoor play. I think parents need the outdoor time as much as the children do.
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325255)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Apr 19
@SophiaMorros I don't suppose we'll ever go back to the days when it was safe for kids to play outside unsupervised. The short while we lived in a city, we knew our neighbours quite well which was nice but I know it's not really the norm now.
1 person likes this
@SophiaMorros (5046)
• Belews Creek, North Carolina
24 Apr 19
@JudyEv We lived in what was considered a bad neighbourhood for a number of years. Letting little kids play outside was not entirely safe even with a fenced back yard. Our yard opened on a large common area that was nice in that it gave the kids more space but also meant other people coming and going as well. So I supervised and chatted with the neighbours (something else we tend to not do much in this day and age).
I've never regretted spending that time outside supervising my kids. I've heard some horror stories from other parents in the area about what went on when no adults were around. 
1 person likes this
@garymarsh6 (23393)
• United Kingdom
24 Apr 19
Sadly we live in different times where kids have little imagination because they would rather be stuck in front of a tv screen playing daft mind numbing games. We were so lucky as kids we made our own entertainment left the house at around 9 in the morning not returning till about 4-5 PM. We would take a sandwich (usually jam or cheese and a bottle of diluted squash) and have a whale of a time at the beach or in the hills. The set up costs of counselling the parents to let go of their anxieties cost quite a bit plus the new equipment which has to meet rigorous safety checks plus soft ground covering probably push the costs up!
We hated to be in and around our parents when we were kids probably as much as they would have hated us being under their feet. Plus we probably got up to more mischeif than we would ever admit to! ( All harmless of course)
2 people like this
@TheHorse (205156)
• Walnut Creek, California
30 Jun 19
Outdoor play comes so naturally to children. It's a pity that we need expensive programs to get them outside. And you're so right: the benefits of outdoor play, and especially outdoor play without the imposition of adult rules, are well documented.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325255)
• Rockingham, Australia
1 Jul 19
As kids in our respective homes, both Vin and I would disappear after breakfast and pretty much just return home for meals.
@BloggerDi (3113)
• United States
28 Apr 19
The program sounds like a worthwhile social experiment. Like you, I have trouble understanding why the cost is so high.
It's a shame that crime rates and the media stories about abductions cause so many parents to feel afraid. I don't blame them, but they should also fear the physical and psychological consequences of a sedentary childhood.
1 person likes this
@florelway (23092)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
24 Apr 19
I believe this kind of program must also be done worldwide. Children nowadays lacked the kind of enjoyment we had as we were growing up and we would play outdoors where they are more focused on gadgets, rather than developing their social interaction skills.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325255)
• Rockingham, Australia
25 Apr 19
@florelway That's true. There are so many benefits to playing outside.
1 person likes this
@florelway (23092)
• Cagayan De Oro, Philippines
25 Apr 19
@JudyEv It does not only strengthen their bones but the laughter they share among themselves make them human rather than being glued to the screen, they are humans not robots.
1 person likes this
@marguicha (215145)
• Chile
24 Apr 19
Maybe thecost includes la price of the land and the payment of supervisors.
1 person likes this
@changjiangzhibin89 (16517)
• China
24 Apr 19
I have seen the photo above, I remember that the sport apparatus was made of scrap.The pilot program is a great one that "kills several birds with one stone."
1 person likes this
@Deepizzaguy (94251)
• Lake Charles, Louisiana
24 Apr 19
That is good to know that your officials are seeing the light that children need some outdoor exercises. Good for them.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325255)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Apr 19
I hope it helps to get the children out of the house.
@andriaperry (116860)
• Anniston, Alabama
24 Apr 19
Love this photo!
We had to play outside, inside was boring.
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (325255)
• Rockingham, Australia
24 Apr 19
I lived on a farm but once breakfast was over I'd only turn up at the house for meals.
@dgobucks226 (34300)
•
24 Apr 19
As a physical education teacher any program which gets children away from screens of any kind TV, computer, is worth the effort in finding a way to pay for it. Sports not only teaches you character, but how to follow rules, a very important thing in society.
1 person likes this
