Children spend half as much time outside as the previous generation

[KateMumsnet]

Hello all

Interesting story in the news today - new research has found that today's children spend less than half the time playing outdoors than their parents did.

Children spend just under five hours a week playing outside – less than half the 11 hours a week of their parents' generation - meaning that outdoor activities like splashing in puddles, building sandcastles, and making mud pies or daisy chains are becoming less and less common.

What do you think? How much time do your DC spend outside - and did you have a different experience as a child? What are your children doing instead?

I think it depends on where people live. Developers are buying the big houses and gardens in my area and building houses without gardens or blocks of flats. We have a garden (with toys) so are lucky. We have woods, a lake, and about five parks.
Today we have spent two windy hours on an organised Easter egg hunt and they are playing out with their cousins now in my mums orchard.

goosey re; skipping games. I have a crazy plan to teach dd double Dutch skipping this summer. We've been watching you tube for inspiration.

It's hard when you're all out of the house from 8am to 6pm as many of our generation have to be. My mother didn't work. We were out playing while she was at home. Our children are in school / after school club / holiday club etc

'Another thing for the MNP to campaign for, more safe outdoor play areas for kids!'

See, that's another difference. What is your definition of 'safe'?
I bet it's a lot more detailed than my parents' ideas of safe.

'Don't go on the railway lines, don't play on the slag heaps, don't dig tunnels into the side of a sandy cliff, don't go on the shooting range when the flags are up' covered most of my guidance from 6-14 in multiple locations.

Mine are 10 and 8 and are lucky because we have our own woodland. However they still need prompting to go outside. Once they're out though I don't see them for hours.

This is at the weekend though. During the week they don't get back in from school until 5 and then need to eat. Often then they have various activities or homework going on and bedtime is 7.30 so there isn't an awful lot of time.

I think that study looks a bit dubious. 2000 parents is low and self reporting is really unreliable. Some of the activities in the questions seem rather value laden in a middle class way and the survey doesn't specify where they got the data about generational difference from.
I've no doubt there is some truth in the headline but it is all so much more complex than the article makes out.
Also doesn't specify if school time is included. Our school makes s huge effort toget the children out. Same at after school club.

It's about the same. In fact my DC's probably spend more time outside because I grew up in London and they live on a farm in a moderate to hot climate.

DD14 spent 5 hours yesterday queueing up outside in the rain to get a good space at a rock concert - does that count?

I think its very seasonal for us, whereas I lived in a hot country as a kid. In the winter when it is miserable 5 hours a week is probably about right. In the spring, summer, autumn it is way more though. Largely because they will be out on their trampoline for at least one hour after school, if not more.

MollieCoddler I agree.

I remember there was some report some time ago about how however many percentages of children can't identify some wildflower or other and how children these days are so ignorant etc etc, and then of course it turned out that most grown-ups can't either...

I make mine go out every single day for absolute minimum of an hour to an hour and a half. Today and yesterday they were outside from 10:30-2, I would say that is average for a weekend/holiday day. Monday-Friday they have at least an hour a day. Ds plays football, so that's 90 minutes twice a week. I would say they have 10 hours a week termtime and more in the holidays (maybe 20-25)

'I remember there was some report some time ago about how however many percentages of children can't identify some wildflower or other and how children these days are so ignorant etc etc, and then of course it turned out that most grown-ups can't either'

Mine spend less time outside than I did as a child. We try to compensate for that by going for a very long countryside walk each weekend. The children have always loved our countryside walks, it's just a shame that they don't get to spend as much time outside on their own as we did as children.

Where I grew up we had a big green outside our house where all the children in our road played until all hours. My children live in a house that opens out onto a main road so playing out the front is not an option.

My childhood home had a decent sized scruffy garden, I remember spending hours out there making perfume from flowers and making gardens for snails. The garden we have now is postage stamped size, we have a trampoline but it's dull, there is nowhere for the children to use their imaginations.

On paper you would think that my children live in the better location. They are growing up in a semi-rural location with beautiful countryside nearby. I grew up in an industrial town that wasn't at all pretty. But it isn't really the case, for us the issue has been garden size, road safety and the fact that parents don't let their children play outside on their own until they are secondary school aged. From the age of 8 I was allowed to roam all day in the holidays and weekends, that just doesn't happen these days. Parents want to micro-manage everything and plan their children's freetime. It's partly due to safety concerns and partly due to it just being a very different time. In the 70s when I grew up you were left to entertain yourself a lot more.

I was in primary school in the 70's. We spent lots of time outside but stranger danger was an issue that stopped us running feral.
I think everyone thinks kids were more free range then,but not ime.
My dc's spend a fair amount of time outside but what pisses me off is that two raindrops at school and its indoor play.
Kids won't dissolve ffs.

I think its a case of the adults setting an example and enjoying the outdoors with their dc's/ pupils as a normal everyday thing,not as some sort of 'activity' that warrants a hot chocolate and pat on the back as if its some sort of Bear Grylls challenge.

And we didn't worry if we got accidentally sun burnt. It was short lived nuisance. Now we cover up on hot days, cover ourselves in factor 50 and do worry very much about burning. The sun seems hotter too IMO but that might be just because we are more focussed on the dangers of too much exposure.

And we didn't worry if we got accidentally sun burnt. It was short lived nuisance. Now we cover up on hot days, cover ourselves in factor 50 and do worry very much about burning. The sun seems hotter too IMO but that might be just because we are more focussed on the dangers of too much exposure.

' I think its a case of the adults setting an example and enjoying the outdoors with their dc's/ pupils as a normal everyday thing'

I agree, ThatBloodyWoman.
I ran a nature club once, and people regularly asked me 'What do you doooo?' in bewilderment as we happily spent 45 minutes in the woods.We did a lot of pottering about.

As well as the lack of green space/increase in cars, the home alone thread demonstrates the level of paranoia many parents have nowadays about allowing their children any time unsupervised. So I'm not surprised at all by this statistic.

I spent all day outside when I was a kid when it wasn't raining. Even if I was reading, I was sitting in a tree. My sister and I were out on our bikes pretty much all day long during the summer holidays from the age of about 8.

Nowadays, children are lucky if they get to go to the park on their own before they're at secondary school :(

That does seem like a short amount of time per week. My 2 preschoolers have spent 3 hours outside just today - hour and a half at park, same in the garden this afternoon.

I think a lot of people with younger children do seem put off by the weather these days, we go out in most weathers and often find ourselves the only ones at the play areas.

They've wanted to get outside as soon as they could walk and I've always encouraged it. A lot of older kids seem to be out on bikes and scooters round here, but it is quite a safe village estate.

My niece lives in a less safe area and is out often with her parents at the weekends and walks to school, but playing outside is a no, whereas I would have been up and down out front on my bike everyday at her age so I can see things have changed.

Hag thats the thing isn't it? So many people seem to have forgotten how to engage with the outdoors and nature.

You make pretend fires,and potions,and mud pies and eat them and run around shouting yee-haa and climbing trees.

I can show 'em all how....

Odd, I was about to mention that thread. It explains a lot...

mine are out walking the dog which they do every day, so they are out, but not playing...

I found you meet the same small group of families at the park through the colder months.

My school in the 70s did a lot of outdoor class time, my kids' schools far less - teacher friend (15 years ago, mind!) said it was frowned on - but I think the pendulum is swinging back again.