49% of children spend less than an hour playing outdoors
One in two Spanish children spends less than an hour a day outdoors, according to a study analyze the game habits in our country carried out by Unilever. Specifically, the study reveals that 49% of Spanish children between 5 and 12 years old, percentage that equals more than 2 million children in Spain, pass less than one hour a day playing outdoors, less time than the daily pass to a maximum security prisoner.
Of this 49%, 11% play less than half an hour daily away from home and 5% never do so. Among the main reasons for this lack of outdoor play time, parents claim, in the first place, lack of time they have to take their little ones to play outside, followed by the weather, understood by the bad weather and, third, the preference of the children themselves for jugar inside house with the new technologies.
From the game outdoors to the impact of technology
In this sense, 84% of the parents surveyed say they are worried about the high impact of technology on the game of their children. In fact, 83% admit that their children refuse to play if there is not some kind of technology involved and 81% affirm that children prefer playing virtual sports on a screen than practicing real sports outside the home.
Less time outdoors than high security prisoners
These data have led to the creation of a global warning situation regarding children's games and the outdoors. In this sense, Ana Palencia, Director of Communication and Sustainability of Unilever Spain, affirms that "we were surprised when we discovered that children spend less time in the open air than high security prisoners, which is why, from Skip, we decided to put march the campaign Getting dirty is good, to denounce this situation and initiate a social debate about the importance of playing for the learning and development of children ".
The starting point of the campaign has been the impressive video Free the children (Free the Kids), recorded in a maximum security prison in the United States. Filmed in Wabash Valley (Indiana, USA), the video shows interviews with inmates who think about how important it is for them to spend time outdoors each day.
The intense stories of the prisoners who voluntarily participated in the project highlight how fundamental it is for them to spend some time abroad to keep feeling alive. Later in the short, the alarming amount of time spent by children from around the world playing, learning and experimenting outside their home or school is shared with inmates, and the reaction of the inmates can not be more shocking: Surprise, worry and disappointment.
Outdoor classes day
In its commitment to find ways to help children play, explore and get dirty every day so that they can learn and develop their full potential, Unilevel together with Ayuda en Acción have launched in Spain the Outdoor classes day, an initiative in which More than 15 countries participate and aimed at getting millions of schoolchildren in the world to spend a day learning outdoors, in nature.
The Outdoor classes day the October 6, with the aim of paying tribute to the game and learning outside the classroom and, at the same time, encourage schools and educators to give a fundamental role to the experiential and experiential game in the formation of children.
Alicia Blasco, Head of Strategic Alliances in Catalonia and the Balearic Islands of Ayuda en Acción, invites "teachers, parents, mothers and all those people related to the children's universe to be involved and help us to combat the lack of play and physical interaction of children next Thursday, October 6. Whether it is teaching outside the classroom, encouraging our children's school to participate or helping to spread the message of the benefits of outdoor play and learning, we know that for the full development of the capacities of the childhood it is so important to cover their basic necessities, like that the children have access to enjoy extracurricular activities and, of course, of the game ".
Marisol Nuevo Espín
