Children's Outdoor Activities Research Articles

Independent and Joint Effects of Prenatal Incense-Burning Smoke Exposure and Children's Early Outdoor Activity on Preschoolers' Obesity.

Incense burning is a significant source of indoor air pollution in many Asian regions. There is emerging evidence that maternal prenatal exposure to incense-burning smoke may be a risk factor for childhood obesity. We aimed to extend this new line of research by investigating the independent and joint effect of incense-burning smoke exposure, and children's outdoor activity in early life, on preschoolers' obesity. A total of 69,637 mother-child dyads were recruited from all kindergartens in the Longhua District of Shenzhen, China. Information on sociodemographic characteristics, maternal exposure to incense-burning smoke (IBS) during pregnancy, and frequency and duration of outdoor activity at the age of 1-3 years was collected by a self-administered questionnaire. In addition, the heights and weights of the children were measured by the research team. Logistic regression models and cross-over analyses were conducted to investigate the independent and combined effects of maternal exposure to incense-burning smoke during pregnancy and children's early outdoor activity on obesity in preschoolers. We found that prenatal exposure to incense-burning smoke increased the risk of the presence of obesity in preschoolers' (AOR = 1.13, 95% CI = 1.03-1.23). Additionally, lower frequencies (<3 times/week) or shorter durations (<60 min/time) of outdoor activity from the age of 1-3 years were significantly associated with the presence of obesity, with AORs of 1.24 (95% CI =1.18-1.32) and 1.11 (95% CI = 1.05-1.17), respectively. Furthermore, the cross-over analysis showed that prenatal exposure to IBS combined with a lower frequency of early outdoor activity (AOR = 1.47, 95% CI = 1.31-1.66) or a shorter duration of outdoor activity during ages of 1-3 years (AOR = 1.22, 95% CI = 1.07-1.39) increased the risk of obesity in preschoolers. Finally, additive interactions between prenatal exposure to IBS and postnatal outdoor activity on obesity were identified. Our study indicates that maternal exposure to incense-burning smoke during pregnancy and early lower postanal outdoor activity may independently and jointly increase the risk of obesity among preschoolers.

Research on the outdoor thermal comfort of children in Hangzhou and Its influence on the underlying surface reflectance.

The outdoor thermal comfort (OTC) of children is more specific than that of adults, and the complex influence of outdoor activity spaces on children's thermal comfort warrants further investigation. To investigate the outdoor thermal comfort baseline (OTCB) of children in Hangzhou and explore the thermal impact of outdoor surfaces on children, a survey was conducted in six typical outdoor activity spaces in Hangzhou, China, during spring and summer utilizing physical measurements, questionnaire surveys, and the universal thermal climate index (UTCI). This study analyzed the differences in thermal perception among children in Hangzhou in different seasons, their OTCB, and the impact of surface reflectance (Rs) on children's OTC. The results indicated the following: 1) In spring, children in Hangzhou generally felt comfortable, but their discomfort with heat noticeably increased in summer. 2) The neutral UTCIs (NUTCIs) for Hangzhou children were 11.6°C (spring) and 27.7°C (summer), and the NUTCI ranges (NUTCIRs) were 9.7-17.5°C (spring) and 25.7-30.0°C (summer); additionally, the thermal acceptability ranges (TARs) were 13.2-25.2°C (spring) and 11.8-34.8°C (summer). 3) A high Rs made children feel more uncomfortable with heat, which was primarily due to the space's total shortwave and longwave radiation, which peaked between 14:00 and 15:00. 4) Based on the research findings, corresponding bioclimatic design strategies were proposed. Recommendations include using high Rs underlays with shading, composite underlays, or the future adoption of thermochromic coatings. Keeping permeable underlays moist is essential for activating their cooling mechanisms. Fundamental safety measures are imperative. This study provides valuable data for urban planners and landscape designers to create public spaces suitable for children's outdoor activities, contributing to a harmonious and unified living environment.

Impact of home quarantine on physical fitness of school-aged children in Xi’an during COVID-19 lockdown: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has sparked unprecedented global challenges. This study intends to investigate changes in the physical fitness of students aged 6–22 during the COVID-19 pandemic and to assess how the pandemic lockdown period affected these markers.MethodsAccording to the National Student Physical Health Standard, a stratified cluster sampling method was used to evaluate the body shape, body function, and physical fitness of children and adolescents (n = 8092) in Xi’an from 2019 to 2021. This study uses SPSS 26.0 (IBM, Chicago, IL, USA) for data statistics and analysis. The connection between physical fitness and years was measured using the one-variable analysis in the general linear model (GLM). Independent t-tests were used to determine the sex (male/female) and area (urban/rural) differences.ResultsDuring the lockdown period, Body Mass Index (BMI) and flexibility showed an upward trend, while aerobic, strength, speed, and endurance showed a downward trend. In addition to the BMI of middle and high school students, almost all indicators show significant sex differences. There are urban-rural differences in some indicators, such as chin-ups.ConclusionDuring the pandemic of COVID-19, the physical fitness of children and adolescents in Xi’an did not change significantly, and there were slight differences among different grades. During the pandemic lockdown period, lifestyle changes and reduced outdoor activities for children and adolescents may be the reasons for the changing trend of various indicators.

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

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.

Parents' perceptions of their children's outdoor activities before and during COVID-19 crisis

This study is focused on Israeli parents' perceptions regarding the possible benefits and barriers to their children's outdoor activities as well as on their reports on the actual engagement of their children in these kinds of activities, before and during the COVID-19 crisis. We employed a mixed-method design, including a questionnaire and a semi-structured interview. The participants were 213 Israeli parents. Findings reveal that parents think that outdoor activities benefit children's physical-motor and social development and their health. They consider their long work hours and weather conditions as the main barriers to spending more time outdoors. Parents also reported going out significantly less with their children to playgrounds after the peak of the COVID-19 crisis, compared to their habits before the pandemic. The decrease in the time spent outdoors was attributed by the parents to their long work hours and to an increase in the time spent by their children in front of screens. In light of the findings, we suggest that parents need guidance in order to restore the habit of going out to close playgrounds on an almost daily basis and in order to appreciate the contribution of outdoor activities to children's connectedness and knowledge about nature.

Özellikli Çocuk Gruplarıyla Doğa Etkinlikleri

Spending more time outdoors improves children's social and cognitive development, physical activity, and vision. Regular moderate-intensity physical activity is linked to many health benefits, including a reduced risk of high blood pressure, obesity, heart disease, stroke, cancer, and depression. Besides physical health indicators, physical activity has also been associated with higher academic and cognitive performance, and higher self-esteem. Since children's outdoor activities are primarily in public areas, there is a need for improvement studies to make these areas suitable for all children, including special child groups, and to supervise them. There are some special preparations and points to be considered during the activity when nature activities are desired to be held with child groups with chronic diseases such as epilepsy, diabetes, asthma, autism, or with atopic structure. With this review, we wanted to share some of the information needed to ensure that nature activities start and end happily with both special and healthy child groups.

Asbestos-Environment Pollution Characteristics and Health-Risk Assessment in Typical Asbestos-Mining Area.

Asbestos has been confirmed as a major pollutant in asbestos-mining areas that are located in western China. In general, asbestos-fibre dust will is released into the environment due to the effect of intensive industrial activities and improper environmental management, such that the health of residents in and around mining areas is jeopardised. A typical asbestos mining area served as an example in this study to analyse the content and fibre morphology of asbestos in soil and air samples in the mining area. The effects of asbestos pollution in and around the mining areas on human health were also assessed based on the U.S. Superfund Risk Assessment Framework in this study. As indicated by the results, different degrees of asbestos pollutions were present in the soil and air, and they were mainly concentrated in the mining area, the ore-dressing area, and the waste pile. The concentration of asbestos in the soil ranged from 0.3% to 91.92%, and the concentration of asbestos fibres in the air reached 0.008-0.145 f·cc-1. The results of the scanning-electron microscope (SEM) energy suggested that the asbestos was primarily strip-shaped, short columnar, and granular, and the asbestos morphology of the soils with higher degrees of pollution exhibited irregular strip-shaped fibre agglomeration. The excess lifetime cancer risk (ELCR) associated with the asbestos fibres in the air of the mining area was at an acceptable level (10-4-10-6), and 40.6% of the monitoring sites were subjected to unacceptable non-carcinogenic risks (HQ > 1). Moreover, the waste pile was the area with the highest non-carcinogenic risk, followed by the ore dressing area, a residential area, and a bare-land area in descending order. In the three scenarios of adult offices or residences in the mining area, adults' outdoor activities in the peripheral residence areas, and children's outdoor activities, the carcinogenic-and non-carcinogenic-risk-control values in the air reached 0.1438, 0.2225 and 0.1540 f·cc-1, and 0.0084, 0.0090 and 0.0090 f·cc-1, respectively. The results of this study will lay a scientific basis for the environmental management and governance of asbestos polluted sites in China.

Parental factors affecting children's nature connectedness

Although the role of children's nature connectedness and its associated influencing factors have been studied to some extent, more studies have been concentrated in Western developed countries and rarely addressed in developing countries, especially China. Moreover, there are few studies that specifically explore parental-level influences on children's nature connectedness. Through a one-to-one bundle survey of 610 parent-child pairs in China, we explored the influence of parental childhood nature experiences, parental attitudes towards children's outdoor nature activities, parental nature connectedness and socio-demographic characteristics on children's nature connectedness. It was found that children's nature connectedness showed no significant difference between different family locations (urban and rural areas), family fertility status (only one child and more than one child), sex of children (male and female); parental economic status, parental education level, and parental nature connectedness, which were found to be influential in previous studies, also showed no correlation with children's nature connectedness in this study; parental childhood nature experiences and positive attitudes toward children's outdoor nature activities both had a positive effect on children's nature connectedness, with parental childhood nature experiences having a more significant effect, but parental negative attitudes toward children's outdoor nature activities showed a significant negative effect. Moreover, the generalized regression model further validated that parental positive attitudes towards children's outdoor nature activities were mediating variables that influenced children's nature connectedness through parental childhood nature experiences. Therefore, the article finally also suggests relevant programs for the community to enhance children's nature connectedness, and emphasizes the need to enhance modern children's nature experiences based on the inter-generational influence of parental childhood nature experiences on children's nature nnectedness.

Children's outdoor activities in the inner suburbs of Brisbane, Australia

AbstractTo examine the impact of residential design on children's out‐of‐school, outdoor activities, 149 urban, upper‐primary‐school children were surveyed about their activities and opinions. Findings indicate children participate in outdoor activities unsupervised in yards that provide busy families quick, convenient access to safe greenspace without the need to drive or closely supervise. The research concluded that government policies are required to ensure residential developments provide yards with usable greenspace, leafy streetscapes and safe, walkable access to local facilities. Increased public awareness and understanding of the benefits of greenspace close to home and the importance of children's independent mobility must be prioritised.

코로나 19 장기화에 따른 유아기 자녀를 둔 어머니의 가정양육 경험에 관한 연구

Objectives In this study, it was conducted to find out the difficulties and needs of mothers experienced due to the prolonged COVID-19.&#x0D; Methods To this end, five mothers with children attending kindergartens located in the metropolitan area were divided into two groups and conducted in-depth interviews to find out the difficulties and demands of mothers who experienced COVID-19 for more than two years.&#x0D; Results As a result of the study, the study participants cited first, restrictions on children's outdoor activities and a surge in stress from mothers as the biggest difficulties. Second, they were most worried about their children’s lack of various experiences and peer relationships. Third, they wanted to carry out an appropriate amount of activities and to prepare for elementary school admission in kindergarten. Fourth, they wanted to provide national support for education expenses and emergency family support expenses that must be paid even in the absence of kindergarten, and to operate a platform that proposes activities that can be done with children.&#x0D; Conclusions Therefore, this study is meaningful in that it presents basic data to understand matters related to family care changed due to the prolonged COVID-19 and to establish measures to cope with pandemic situations such as COVID-19 in the future.&#x0D;

Children’s Experiences of Lockdown and Social Distancing in the Covid-19 Pandemic

Covid-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, and the world has witnessed significant changes since then. Spain has been forced to go into extreme lockdown, cancelling all school classes and outdoor activities for children, which may have significant consequences on young people. This paper explores how young children have experienced lockdown as a consequence of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and what they think about their future lives after Covid-19. Data were collected from 73 students aged from 7 to 9 years old, using participant-produced drawings and short questions with children’s and parents’ descriptive comments. We used a children’s rights perspective and the Freirean approach of a pedagogy of love and hope to analyse the data. Results suggest that participants have been through significant changes in their routines, and that what they miss most from their lives before Covid-19 is playing outdoors with their friends and visiting their grandparents. To our knowledge, this paper is the first of its kind in investigating how the Covid-19 pandemic has influenced the ways that children lived during pandemic and its possible implications for their futures.

Developing Rural Natural Resources and Enrich Children's Outdoor Activities

Developing Rural Natural Resources and Enrich Children's Outdoor Activities

Parental Perceptions to Outdoor Activities

The importance of outdoor activities for children should not be overlooked, and teachers and parents as stakeholders have an influential role in providing learning opportunities (Elliott, 2015). Teachers are dependent on parental reciprocity because of potential for harm (Maynard, 2007), and parents can limit activities because of various reasons such as traffic, weather and getting hurt (Cevher-Kalburan, 2014; Yılmaz, 2016). Therefore, identifying parental perceptions of outdoor activities is a significant aspect of supporting children’s opportunity to engage in them. In this research, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data, as a way to understand participating parents’ views in detail (Fife, 2005). Data collection was carried out by the author and NVivo 12 software programme was used to analyse data from 30 participants. Six main themes emerged from the interview questions in the data analysis, which are presented in this paper. While participating parents overall were positive about promoting outdoor activities both at out-of-school and in schools, their preferences for their children were mostly for indoor activities. Thus, there was conflict between what they claimed for outdoor activities and what they most preferred for their own children. This apparent tension suggests the need for further research.

Your outdoor calendar: August

As the UK continues to ‘open up’ after so many restrictions on children's outdoor activities, Julie Mountain shows how you can keep celebrating A Summer of Play

A World Through Glass: A Narrative Around the Family Experiences During the Confinement of COVID-19.

COVID-19 was declared a pandemic in March 2020, and the world has witnessed significant changes since then. Spain has been forced to go into extreme lockdown, cancelling all school classes and outdoor activities for children. Our study explores how parents of a group of school children aged 7 to 8 years have experienced confinement due to the COVID-19 health crisis. Following a narrative methodology, the results have been organized around a story that takes as a reference the period of confinement for a mother and worker in times of confinement. The conclusions of our study suggest that participants have experienced significant changes in their routines, having faced numerous personal and professional dilemmas in a climate of great emotional burden. This study is the first of its kind in investigating how the COVID-19 pandemic has influenced the ways that children and their families live and its possible implications for their futures.

Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Children with ASD and Their Families: An Online Survey in China.

BackgroundThe COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown will have short-term and long-term psychosocial and mental health implications for children. Children with autism may have some specific needs for support because of their difficulties in social communication, stereotyped behavior patterns, and other specificities brought about by autism.PurposeThe purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on ASD children and their families.Patients and MethodsA total of 406 parents of ASD children completed an online survey investigating basic information; sleep, outdoor activities, and rehabilitation training; ASD children’s frequency of abnormal behaviors; and stress and emotional status of parents.Results50.3% of the parents thought their children had sleep problems, and 47.3% of the parents thought their children’s outdoor activity time was reduced. About 40% of parents think that their children have improved cognitive ability, language expression, and understanding. 36.2% of the families reported that their children’s emotional and social performance became worse. 60.8% of parents reported that their children’s training intensity decreased. The most common abnormal behaviors observed in children with ASD were being easily distracted, losing temper, and crying. 81.3% of parents did not have anxiety, but 98% of parents reported that family training was under pressure.ConclusionThe main impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children with ASD is that they do not have access to professional rehabilitation training. These families need more medical support, especially in family training, to help parents improve the social and emotional control skills of ASD children.

Children's Outdoor Activities and Parenting Style in Children's Social Skill

Physical activity is very important for early childhood, especially outdoor activities that add a lot of new experiences. This study aims to check the relationship of children's outdoor activities and parenting styles and children's social skills. The participants are 125 parents of early childhood who attend kindergarten. The research method is a descriptive study using the relational screening model. The results showed that there was a relationship between outside play and parenting style on the social skills of children in their childhood. Democratic parenting styles are found to promote children's social skills, while authoritative parenting styles have a negative correlation with interpersonal skills, the ability to express verbally, self-control, listening skills, emotional management and adaptation to change. In the sub-dimensions of anger management and adaptation to changing skills is a significant difference between authoritative parenting styles and not permissive parenting with children's social skills.

THE IMPACT OF TEACHERS' ROLES ON CHILDREN'S ENGAGEMENT IN OUTDOOR PLAY IN KWALE COUNTY, KENYA

Outdoor play is part and parcel of child development. And because children spent most of their time interacting with their peers and teachers in Early Childhood Development Centres, it is the responsibility of educators to ensure all children enjoy learning through play. While many studies revealed the contribution of preschool teachers towards children outdoor play, it is not clear whether teachers’ involvement discourages or encourages children to play. It is in the light of this that the study sought to determine how teachers’ roles influence children’s engagement in outdoor play in Kwale County, Kenya. The target population of this study was preschool teachers and head teachers in Kwale County. The study employed stratified and purposive sampling techniques to select preschools and head teachers respectively. Data was collected via questionnaire and observation checklist. The data collected was presented using frequency distribution tables and bar graphs. Qualitative and quantitative data analysis procedure was used in which data revealed various roles of preschool teachers during children outdoor play activities. The study established that teachers’ involvement influences children engagement in outdoor play. Based on the findings, the study recommended that teachers should contribute towards children outdoor activities as well as accompany them to the playgrounds during play time. Article visualizations:

AKTIVNOSTI PREDŠKOLSKOG DETETA NA KOMPJUTERIMA I MOBILNIM UREĐAJIMA

U radu se bavimo odnosom dece predškolskog uzrasta (iz njihovog ugla) pre- ma kompjuterima i mobilnim uređajima (tabletima i smart telefonima) kao i njihovim aktivnostima na ovim uređajima. Istraživanje je sprovedeno anketiranjem dece 4-6 godina, u predškolskim ustanovama u Srbiji. Sakupljeno je N = 360 popunjenih upit- nika. Cilj istraživanja je da se utvrdi u koje svrhe deca predškolskog uzrasta koriste kompjutere i mobilne uređaje, i da li ih koriste za zabavu ili u edukativne svrhe. Od- govori dece analiziraju se iz ugla koliko roditelji ograničavaju vreme svojoj deci na ovim uređajima i da li ih uključuju u aktivnosti van kuće. Rezultati istraživanja govore da, iako veliki procenat roditelja ograničava deci vreme provedeno na kompjuterima i mobilnim uređajima i omogućuje svojoj deci aktivnosti van kuće, deca ne koriste ade- kvatne sadržaje na kompjuteru i mobilnim uređajima. Najomiljenije aktivnosti dece na kompjuteru i mobilnim uređajima su igranje igrica, gledanje crtanih filmova i sluša- nje muzike što je posledica činjenice da deca ove uređaje pre svega doživljavaju kao igračku. Vrlo malo dece koristi kompjuter i mobilne uređaje za učenje. Na kraju, date su praktične preporuke roditeljima.

Association between ambient PM2.5 and children’s hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in Jinan, China

To determine the association between daily air pollution and the hospital admissions for respiratory diseases in children aged from 0 to 17 years in Jinan, China. Generalized linear models were used to explore the acute effects of ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) on the children's hospital admissions for respiratory diseases. We evaluated the lag associations (including lag 0 to lag 3, lag 01, and lag 03) between daily PM2.5 and the number of children's hospital admissions for respiratory diseases, and stratified by gender, age group (baby group: age 0-1 years; child group: age 1-5 years; student group: age 6-17 years), and cause-specific disease (including upper infection, pneumonia, and acute bronchitis) during 2011-2015. PM2.5 had significant positive impacts on the number of children's hospital admissions for respiratory disease. The results showed that per 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 at lag 1 was associated with an increase in total and male hospital admissions of 0.23% (95% CI, 0.02%-0.45%) and 0.32% (95% CI, 0.04%-0.06%). The corresponding risk of the student group (age 6-17 years) hospital admissions was increased 0.90% (95% CI, 0.39%-1.42%) at lag 1 day. The corresponding risk of the upper infection was increased 0.96% (95% CI, 0.37-1.55%) at lag 1 day. Males and student groups (age 6-17 years) were more vulnerable to PM2.5 exposure. Upper infection admission was identified as the sensitive disease for children. It is a better way to reduce children's outdoor activities to avoid health effects when the air pollution increases.