An article published in the World Economic Forum sheds light on the scale of steady play decline.
According to research commissioned by Edelman Intelligence, 56% of respondents in a survey of 12,710 parents in 10 countries said their kids spent less than an hour every day playing outside—less time than prisoners in a maximum security prison spend outdoors. One in 10 kids never play outside, and two-thirds of parents say their kids play less than they did.
The article goes on to provide insight into what children are doing when not playing.
Smartphones, video games, and tablets play a role. But so does over-scheduling kids in organized activities like soccer, violin lessons, and dance, which do not fit the definition of play. Parents know kids need academics, sports, and music to “succeed,” so they focus on those activities, relegating play to a trivial pastime that can be sacrificed.
Read the full text here:
