Last modified on Tue 20 Apr 2021 02.23 EDT
Primary-age children in Britain are losing the freedom to play independently and typically are not are allowed to play outside on their own until two years older than their parentsâ generation were, according to research.
While their parents were allowed to play outside unsupervised by the age of nine on average, todayâs children are 11 by the time they reach the same milestone, according to the study, which says not enough adventurous play could affect childrenâs long-term physical and mental health.
One expert said the findings showed that British children had been subject to âa gradual, creeping lockdown over at least a generationâ.
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Children in the UK are being held back from play independently outside until later childhood, new research has found.
The British Children’s Play Survey, conducted in April 2020 is the largest study of its kind. Researchers asked 1919 parents about the play of children aged 5 to 11. While parents said that on average they were allowed out alone to play before the age of nine, the current generation of primary school children are not given the same independence until they were nearly 11.
The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research into Public Health found that the average age that a child was allowed to play outside alone was just before their 11th birthday (an average of 10.74 years). The authors note that 6% of parents (108 participants) said that they would not allow their child to play independently before 11. In comparison, parents themselves said they were allowed out before their 9th birthday (an average of 8.91 years).
Pre-teen friends sitting on climbing frame in playground.
- Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto
Fears over road safety and crime are preventing some parents letting their children outside to play independently.
That is the claim from advocates of outdoor play, academics and parents as a study revealed children in the UK are not generally allowed to play outside on their own until just before they turn 11.
This was compared to their parents generation who were generally let out to play just before the age of nine.
The British Children’s Play Survey, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research into Public Health, took place in April last year in which just over 1,900 parents of five-11-year-olds were surveyed.
The British Children’s Play Survey, conducted in April 2020 is the largest study of its kind. Researchers asked 1919 parents about the play of children aged 5 to 11. While parents said that on average they were allowed out alone to play before the age of nine, the current generation of primary school children were not given the same independence until they were nearly 11. The study, published in the International Journal of Environmental Research into Public Health today (April 20), found that the average age that a child was allowed to play outside alone was just before their 11th birthday (an average of 10.74 years).