Persil Research shows three quarters of children in the UK spend less time outside than prisoners!

As a person that loves to get outside with the kids I am aware that research shows that kids spend more time indoors than we did as children but nothing prepared me for the research from Persil that three quarters of UK children spend less time outdoors than prison inmates and one in five UK children don’t play outside at all on an average day

What’s more, it seems children are in danger of not engaging in outdoor adventure play, as one in ten parents have never been on an outdoor adventure with their child and almost half of UK parents worry that their child gets less adventure play time than they did.

The report ‘Play in Balance’, commissioned by Persil to launch the ‘Dirt is Good’ campaign and polled 12,000 parents worldwide.  In the UK, the unreliable British weather, lack of time and children wanting to stay inside were amongst the top barriers to outdoor play.

Traditional British outdoor games are also in decline, as the research found over half of under 7’s have never attempted a game of conkers before and almost two fifths have never played ‘Stuck in the Mud’. Lack of time playing outside has led to UK children being out of touch with nature, as over half couldn’t identify a classic British oak tree, and nearly two thirds were unable to identify the iconic spring Crocus flower. In contrast, an overwhelming 80 per cent could identify pop sensation Justin Bieber and over two thirds could easily name girl band Little Mix.

So how do we overcome this?

In my mind it is simple – get outside!

There is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes! You don’t have to spend a fortune on wet weather gear, head to your local Aldi, Lidl or Primark and invest in some waterproofs and head to your local park, woodland or beach. Even the garden can be a great source of outside play.

There is no need for any fancy equipment, I often find a stick is enough to keep mine amused for hours. The girls tend to role play, make up fairy stories and cook up lunch for the wildlife, whereas the boys love to climb trees, hunt out wildlife and have stick battles. Going out with friends always doubles the fun though.

Sometimes there are days when my kids will want to stay in and play computer games, but once out, they have so much more fun than they would if they had stayed inside. No-one ever remembers that high score or completing a computer game, kids remember days out, getting filthy and having fun!

To draw further attention to the outdoor play deficit, Persil has created ‘Free the Kids’, a thought-provoking film that starkly illustrates the current imbalance in play.  Filmed in a maximum security prison in Wabash, Indiana, Director Toby Dye spoke to prison inmates about what their outdoors time meant to them.

That is why Persil decided to make ‘Free The Kids’, to bring this issue to life, and to start a global conversation about the importance of play for children’s learning and development. In response, we are working with leading partners including The Wild Network and Empty Classroom Day to help families rediscover outdoor play, both at home and through schools.”

What are you barriers to outdoor play?