The impact of daycare attendance on outdoor free play in young children
Authors: Carsley, S., Liang, L., Chen, Y., Parkin, P., Maguire, J., Birken, C.
Journal: Medicine and Public Health Research Journal (MPHRJ), ISSN 1694-4593
Citation: MPHRJ 2(1), 2022-08-04.
DOI: 10.1093/pubmed/fdw006
Type: Original Research
Abstract
This study aimed to describe the outdoor free play (OFP) of children attending full-time daycare and to determine the individual, social, and environmental factors associated with OFP. Cross-sectional data were collected at one point in time from parents of children aged 18–60 months attending full-time daycare (≥30 h/week) in Toronto, Canada. Parents completed an online questionnaire including questions on child screen time and OFP, as well as their neighbourhood built environment. Daycare providers completed a questionnaire on the daycare outdoor play environment. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors independently associated with OFP. The majority (61%) of children (n = 312) engaged in OFP daily. After adjusting for child and family covariates, daily OFP was associated with: greater weekday screen time (p = 0.04), and having a high-quality (p = 0.04) and a large (p = 0.04) daycare outdoor play environment. No neighbourhood built environment factors were associated with OFP. Given the importance of OFP for healthy child development, these results highlight the need for greater promotion of OFP in young children, particularly within the daycare environment.
Keywords
outdoor free play, daycare, screen time, built environment, preschool children
Full Text
This study aimed to describe the outdoor free play (OFP) of children attending full-time daycare and to determine the individual, social, and environmental factors associated with OFP. Cross-sectional data were collected at one point in time from parents of children aged 18–60 months attending full-time daycare (≥30 h/week) in Toronto, Canada. Parents completed an online questionnaire including questions on child screen time and OFP, as well as their neighbourhood built environment. Daycare providers completed a questionnaire on the daycare outdoor play environment. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors independently associated with OFP. The majority (61%) of children (n = 312) engaged in OFP daily. After adjusting for child and family covariates, daily OFP was associated with: greater weekday screen time (p = 0.04), and having a high-quality (p = 0.04) and a large (p = 0.04) daycare outdoor play environment. No neighbourhood built environment factors were associated with OFP. Given the importance of OFP for healthy child development, these results highlight the need for greater promotion of OFP in young children, particularly within the daycare environment.