Children spend a lot of time engaged in electronic media. For example, 88% of children reported using a computer almost every day, while only 11% of children reported visiting a local park or natural area almost every day. Obese children prefer indoor activities more than children who are not obese and are less likely to have had a meaningful experience in nature. 66% of children reported having a meaningful experience in nature. Children who have had a meaningful experience in nature are more likely to prefer spending time outdoors, express concern about environmental issues, consider themselves a strong environmentalist, and express interest in studying the environment or pursuing an environmental career. Children most often experience nature with friends (79%), followed by parents (46%) and brothers and sisters (44%). Children reported that feelings of discomfort (bugs, heat, etc.), lack of transportation to natural areas, and lack of natural areas near home were the top 3 reasons why they did not spend more time in nature. Children living in the West are most likely to prefer spending time outdoors, while children living in the Northeast are most likely to prefer spending time indoors. 86% of children said that it is “cool” to do things that protect the environment. Based on the survey results, researchers highlight a number of strategies to enhance children’s connection to nature, including providing opportunities at school that engage children with nature, getting friends and parents to encourage children to spend more time outside, and ensuring that activities are fun and easy. Author Affiliation: This report was produced by The Nature Conservancy, a nonprofit conservation organization based in Arlington, VA. Country where research took place: United States. C&NN Research Volume 5 The Nature Conservancy. (2011). Connecting America's youth to nature. This report is available online at: http://www.nature.org/newsfeatures/kids-in-nature/kids-in-nature-poll.xml
The neighborhood environment influences children’s active free-play outdoors Active free-play outdoors may serve as an important way to increase children’s physical activity levels. In this study, Veitch and colleagues investigated the relationship between various individual, social, and environmental factors and children’s active free-play in three locations outside of school hours: the yard at home, in their street/court/footpath, and the park/playground. Researchers also examined relationships between how often children played in these three locations and their physical activity levels. As part of this study, 187 parents of 8- to 9-year-old children from primary schools in Melbourne, Australia completed a survey about individual factors (e.g., marital and employment status), social environmental factors (e.g., crime rate in neighborhood), and physical environmental factors (e.g., size of yard and quality of parks). In addition, participating children wore an accelerometer for 8 days to measure their physical activity levels. In analyzing the data, Veitch and colleagues found the following results for each of the three locations examined:
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