Indian kids not playing enough outdoors
Children in India have less opportunities to play outdoors than their parents had as kids, according to a survey in 10 countries which found that over half of children globally play outside for one hour or less each day.
The study included a 20 minute online quantitative survey with over 12,000 parents who have at least one child aged 5-12. In response to the decline in the time that children spend outdoors, a Delhi-based NGO is calling on teachers across India to take at least one lesson outdoors on October 12, this year.
“We are calling on teachers, parents and anyone who cares about childhood to get involved in the campaign on October 12th, 2017,” said Sudeshna Chatterjee, CEO of Action for Children’s Environments (ACE).
“Whether that is by taking a class outdoors, encouraging your child’s school to sign up, or helping spread the message far and wide, everyone can do something to make sure children across the country experience the benefits of playing and learning outdoors” said Chatterjee.
The survey was conducted by market research firm Edelman Intelligence, in February and March 2016, across 10 countries – India, US, Brazil, UK, Turkey, Portugal, South Africa, Vietnam, China, and Indonesia.
A total of 1,000 interviews were conducted in the 10 countries except the UK and the US, where 2,000 per market were performed to meet media standards. Researchers found that in India, 56 per cent of parents believe their child has less opportunities to play than they did as a child, researchers said. They also found that 56 per cent of children globally play outside for one hour or less each day. “Children have higher physical energy level and it has to be channelised properly for which outdoor games and activities are very important,” Dr Shweta Sharma, Clinical Psychologist at Columbia Asia Hospital, Gurgaon.