Many adults will have fond memories of playing outdoors as children, going to the park, or just hanging out on their estate riding bikes, climbing trees, and playing tag with friends.
But it seems many little ones today are missing out on this experience, as new research by Virgin Media O2 has found there's been a decline in children's outdoor play, with nearly two-thirds of British parents being concerned that their children aren't getting enough stimulation outside.
This news may be worrying for some mums and dads as previous scientific studies have found that spending time outdoors has numerous benefits for children's mood and concentration.
In a bid to change the way children play, a futuristic play area has been created that challenges children to create their own musical track by interacting with swings, slides, and climbing frames powered by Virgin Media O2's gigabit broadband and 5G mobile networks.
Known as 'The Connected Playground' the temporary space can be found at Kings Square Gardens in Islington, London, and is intended to promote creativity and smart play through technology.
As part of this project, Professor Sam Wass, a child psychologist expert on Channel 4’s Secret Life of 4 and 5 Year Olds, has been explaining to The Mirror why it could be bad news for parents if their children don't want to play outside, as it's so important for stress relief and concentration.
He said: "There definitely is a decline in children going outside and this is something parents are worried about.
"The scientific evidence is overwhelming now that spending time outdoors has both immediate and long-term benefits for children's concentration and mood, so one of the slight mysteries is why are we having this decline in children wanting to go outdoors and play despite the fact that it's good for them and you feel better after time outdoors.
"One of the things we think that's driving [the decline] is what they get from screen-based interactions indoors, which is interactivity.
"Many kids enjoy that they can push a button and something happens and this is continues from really, really early on in childhood all the way through to adulthood as social media is also now very interactive.
"This type of interactivity is good for learning and there's loads of research suggesting that it helps children's brain development. It's helping different parts of the brain to talk to each other."
He went on to explain: "Our brains work by generating predictions, so if you predict something is going to happen and it does, you get a shot of reward and it's different parts of the brain talking to each other."
But while screen-based interactions might be good for learning, Professor Wass does warn that they have downsides as well.
"I do a lot of research on stress and screen-based interactions are quite stressful for children and that's why going outdoors is so great because it's good for reducing stress.
"However, you definitely need both, you get stuff from the technology but you need the complement of the outdoors as well to help you unwind."
The expert went on to share how it can be difficult for parents to encourage their children to play in normal outdoor settings as their expectations for play are constantly evolving due to what they get from digital play, but hopefully, this might be about to change.
"Seven out of 10 parents that we asked said they liked this idea of trying to modernise playgrounds, and with this campaign, we can bring the kind of interactivity that kids love about screen-based interactions outdoors.
"New hybrid environments, such as Virgin Media O2's Connected Playground, may in future play a vital role in encouraging children to embrace technology in outdoor settings, and help provide children with the tools they need to think and play creatively," he added.
Virgin Media O2's Connected Playground at King Square Gardens is open to the public from Thursday 9th to Friday 10th March. For more information and to book a slot, please visit Virgin Media O2 (eventbrite.com)
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