Half of Swindon children never play outside without parents watching
Unsupervised play helps children develop independence, research shows
One in two (50%) children in Swindon between the ages of three and 11 are always supervised when they play outdoors outside of school.
According to a new survey by Censuswide for Bluestone National Park Resort, this is more than the national average of 39%.
The survey also found that almost nine in ten children in Swindon (87.5%) have never been shown how to safely make a campfire or light a match.
Neuroscientist, Dr Rachel Taylor, said: “The data in Bluestone’s survey reflects a mood of parents not being confident in allowing their kids to be exposed to positive risk in the natural world, which has the potential to be hugely damaging.
“Outdoor play which has the capacity to turn into a catastrophe - or magic - is vital to the formation of the prefrontal cortex which helps us as humans to develop autonomy.
“It’s vital that we allow children to build their own confidence, self-esteem and self-worth; and part of that as parents is in letting go, allowing them to develop the skills to develop the adult that they will become.”
Across the UK and the Republic of Ireland (ROI), the number of children who know how to make a campfire is higher than in Swindon, with only around 67% of parents admitting their child has never been taught the skill.
Despite nearly all (96%) parents agreeing that spending time outside is good for a child’s development, the survey found that children in the UK play outside in a green space four times a week while children in ROI do so five times a week, on average.
If children play unsupervised, they do so twice a week on average in the UK and three times a week in ROI.
“Children need to be empowered to play independently with permission to build their own world within the parental world, where parents don't know everything”, explained Dr. Rachel.
“Because if that doesn't happen, they won't develop the autonomy needed for adulthood; they won't develop decision-making skills; the prefrontal cortex isn’t allowed to develop as it should”.
Of all 2,001 parents surveyed, 17 admitted that their child never plays outdoors outside of school.
An article in the UNESCO Courier attributes the decline in outdoor play to “urbanisation, screen time and ‘helicopter parenting’”.
Dr. Rachel advises parents to “consider allowing their children to create their own world”.
She recommends starting with 15-minute chunks when outside and building up the unsupervised play time from there.