Outdoor Play Slides

Published on January 21, 2012 by The Editor · No Comments

The Wowster looks at how a sense of play has been drained from today’s children

The world of outside play is escaping children compared to yesteryear.

Researchers have discovered that just one in five children plays outside every day and one in ten has never ridden a bike.

The figures tell a grim story of children being a third less likely to play outdoors than their parents.

The researchers from the charity Play England discovered that a third of youngsters had never climbed a tree or built a den.

The ‘cotton wool’ culture and red tape is blamed for the demise of outdoor play with parents being over-cautious.

Seven out of ten parents take their children to an outdoor space as a treat with 59% wowing the could play outside more often.

Just 21% of children play outside compared with 71% in their parents day.

The government’s solution: children should be taken litter picking to teach them not to drop rubbish.

Eh? You couldn’t make it up.

The joy of playing…

The Wowster is the pen name of Nathan Goldberg, wowdewow publisher and founder. As a child of the slums he was often sent out to play but kept finding his way home.

Do feel free to comment on what you think will encourage children to play more.

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