Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play

Mark S. Tremblay, Casey Gray, Shawna Babcock, Joel Barnes, Christa Costas Bradstreet, Dawn Carr, Guylaine Chabot, Louise Choquette, David Chorney, Cam Collyer, Susan Herrington, Katherine Janson, Ian Janssen, Richard Larouche, William Pickett, Marlene Power, Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter, Brenda Simon and Mariana Brussoni
Additional contact information
Mark S. Tremblay: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada
Casey Gray: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada
Shawna Babcock: KidActive, 559A, Burtron Lane, Combermere, Ontario, K0J 1L0, Canada
Joel Barnes: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada
Christa Costas Bradstreet: ParticipACTION, 77 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1M2, Canada
Dawn Carr: Canadian Parks Council, 455 Hunter Street West, Peterborough, Ontario, K9H 2M7, Canada
Guylaine Chabot: Evaluation Platform on Obesity Prevention, Quebec Heart and Lung Research Institute, Laval University, 2725 Chemin Ste-Foy, Québec City, Québec, G1V 4G5, Canada
Louise Choquette: Best Start Resource Centre—Health Nexus, 180 Dundas Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5G 1Z8, Canada
David Chorney: PHE Canada, 301-2197 Riverside Drive, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 7X3, Canada
Cam Collyer: Evergreen, 550 Bayview Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 3X8, Canada
Susan Herrington: School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, University of British Columbia, 379-2357 Main Mall, Vancouver, British Columbia, B6T 1Z4, Canada
Katherine Janson: ParticipACTION, 77 Bloor Street West, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 1M2, Canada
Ian Janssen: Department of Public Health Sciences, School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen's University, 99 University Avenue, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 2P5, Canada
Richard Larouche: Healthy Active Living and Obesity Research Group, Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, 401 Smyth Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K1H 8L1, Canada
William Pickett: Department of Public Health Sciences, Carruthers Hall, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, K7L 2P5, Canada
Marlene Power: Forest School Canada, Child and Nature Alliance of Canada, 411 Corkstown Road, Ottawa, Ontario, K2K 2Y1, Canada
Ellen Beate Hansen Sandseter: Department of Physical Education and Health, College of Early Childhood Education, Queen Maud University, Thrond Nergaardsvei 7, NO-7044 Trondheim, Norway
Brenda Simon: PLAYbynature, 226 Albany Avenue, Toronto, Ontario, M5R 3C6, Canada
Mariana Brussoni: British Columbia Injury Research & Prevention Unit, Department of Pediatrics, School of Population & Public Health, Child & Family Research Institute, British Columbia Children's Hospital, University of British Columbia, , F511-4480 Oak Street, Vancouver, British Columbia, V6H 3V4, Canada

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 6, 1-31

Abstract: A diverse, cross-sectorial group of partners, stakeholders and researchers, collaborated to develop an evidence-informed Position Statement on active outdoor play for children aged 3–12 years. The Position Statement was created in response to practitioner, academic, legal, insurance and public debate, dialogue and disagreement on the relative benefits and harms of active (including risky) outdoor play. The Position Statement development process was informed by two systematic reviews, a critical appraisal of the current literature and existing position statements, engagement of research experts (N = 9) and cross-sectorial individuals/organizations (N = 17), and an extensive stakeholder consultation process (N = 1908). More than 95% of the stakeholders consulted strongly agreed or somewhat agreed with the Position Statement ; 14/17 participating individuals/organizations endorsed it; and over 1000 additional individuals and organizations requested their name be listed as a supporter. The final Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play states: “Access to active play in nature and outdoors—with its risks— is essential for healthy child development. We recommend increasing children’s opportunities for self-directed play outdoors in all settings—at home, at school, in child care, the community and nature.” The full Position Statement provides context for the statement, evidence supporting it, and a series of recommendations to increase active outdoor play opportunities to promote healthy child development.

Keywords: physical activity; health promotion; risk taking; safety; injury; playground (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (11)

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