The Effect of Outdoor Play, Physical Activity, and Screen Time Use on the Emotional Wellbeing of Children and Youth during a Health Crisis

Abstract

Long-standing research has highlighted the critical role of physical and outdoor activities for children’s health and wellbeing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, children around the world experienced heightened stress and poor mental health, which coincided with a decrease in active play and increase in screen-based activities. This study examined how physical, outdoor, and screen-based activities impacted emotional wellbeing during the post-lockdown period of COVID-19. Caregiver proxy report of children’s activities and emotional wellbeing was collected from 190 caregivers through an online survey in February-April 2021. Overall, we observed low levels of physical and outdoor activities and high levels of screen activities in children, especially those aged 5 and older. Unadjusted models suggested that time spent in physical activity and online socializing predicted child wellbeing positively and negatively, respectively. However, only child age, parent-child co-play, parent stress, and family life satisfaction emerged as significant predictors of child wellbeing in the fully adjusted model. The findings facilitate a deeper understanding of children and youth’s outdoor engagement during the pandemic and highlight the critical role of parents and families in supporting children’s emotional wellbeing and healthy recreation under sustained stress and disruption.