Parental perceptions of environmental factors on preschoolers’ outdoor play in low, middle, and high-income countries
Abstract Overview
Background: Environmental factors are associated with children’s developmental trajectories. However, associations with children’s outdoor play remain largely unknown, particularly, among children who reside in low and middle-income countries.
Purpose: To examine the associations between parent perceptions of environmental factors and outdoor play among a global sample of preschool-aged children.
Methods: Data from the pilot phases of SUNRISE – International Study of Movement Behaviours in the Early Years were used. Parents completed a questionnaire which asked about their child’s outdoor play patterns and family and environmental factors that influenced their child’s participation in outdoor play in the past three days.
Results: Data from 1924 children from 18 countries (16 LMICs) were analysed. The number of children and mean weekday (WD) and weekend (WE) time report in outdoor play for high, upper-middle, lower-middle- and low-income countries was 140 (WD:209 mins ±208mins; WE:250 mins±173 mins), 506 (WD:172 mins±157 mins; WE:235 mins±157 mins), 794 (WD:201 mins±158 mins, WE:226 mins±168 mins) and 484 children (WD:249 mins±196 mins; WE:290 mins±163 mins), respectively. Forty percent of parents (n=765) reported environmental factors that prevented their child playing outdoors in the past 3 days, with 55% (n=423) citing multiple factors. One in five parents cited weather factors, 6% cited different types of pollution and 10% cited social factors as reasons their child could not play outdoors.
Conclusions: In this global sample, weather conditions, pollution and social factors impacted preschoolers’ participation in outdoor play. Further research using objective measures of climate-related factors as well as cultural and environmental variations between countries is recommended to validate these findings.
Practical implications: Climate-related factors, must be at the forefront when developing policies and interventions to ensure children have the right to safe and accessible outdoor play environments.
Funding: ADO is supported by a NHMRC Investigator Grant (APP1175858)
Additional Authors
Name: Gursimran Dhamrait
Affiliation: Early Start and School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia and Queensland Brain Institute, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
Presenting Author: no
Name: Mounir Ghogho
Affiliation: TICLab, International University of Rabat, Sala al Jadida, Morocco
Presenting Author: no
Name: Anthony D. Okely
Affiliation: Early Start and School of Health and Society, University of Wollongong, NSW, Australia and Western Norway University of Applied Sciences, Norway
Presenting Author: no
Information
Study Type: Epidemiology
Subtheme: 24 hours
Population Group: Early Childhood
Setting: Community, Family
Submitting Author
Claudia Maddren
PhD Candidate
University of Wollongong
