Motivation and emotion/Book/2026/Outdoor play and children's emotional well-being
How does outdoor play influence children's emotional well-being?
Overview
[edit | edit source]Imagine this....
 A child comes home after a long day at school. Children often have some free time after school or during weekends. Sometimes they remain indoors, while on other days they choose to play outdoors. They freely engage in the activities of their choice. They may ride bikes, skate, explore nature, do some creative work using natural materials or make up games with other children. Outdoor play does not always have and follow predetermined rules. A game may become frustrating, other children may disagree about the rules, or something a child trying to negotiate may not work. The child may choose to change or avoid the activity, negotiate with others, become upset or may remain calm and try again. How does outdoor play influence children's emotional well-being? Does the relationship involve physical activity, autonomy to choose what and how to play, social interaction, experience of dealing with conflicting situations, or a combination of these factors? |
Outdoor play can involve physical movement, social interaction, exploration, engagement with the surrounding environment. Recent research does not examine children's emotional well-being as one single outcome. Studies on outdoor play have examined emotional dysregulation (Lee et al., 2025), social-emotional competence (Ferguson et al., 2025), positive and negative affect (Poulos et al., 2026), and internalising and externalising symptoms (Dodd et al., 2026) . These outcomes examine different aspects of children's emotional functioning.
Research has also examined characteristics of outdoor play and conditions surrounding children's participation. Lee et al. (2025) examined both the amount and timing of outdoor play and tested working memory as a statistical mediator of the association to emotional dysregulation. The study used a mediation analysis with 325 preschool children. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) in a qualitative study examined facilitators and barriers to inclusive outdoor play and identified personal, interacting and environmental factors. The study involved 40 children aged 6 to 12 years.
This chapter will examine how outdoor play and emotional well-being are represented in recent research, the psychological processes that may be involved, the social and environmental conditions shaping outdoor-play experiences, differences in recent findings, and how families, communities, and schools can support opportunities for outdoor play.
- Outdoor play needs to have a clear definition . Outdoor play refers to the range of child-centric activities that happen outdoors. It is more than simply being outside. It generally involves voluntary and intrinsically motivated activity in outdoor environments such as playgrounds, gardens, streets and natural spaces (Dodd et al., 2026). Outdoor play and outdoor physical activity are related but should not be treated as the same construct (Davenport et al.,2025).
- Children's emotional well-being is examined through different outcomes in recent outdoor play research . It cannot be defined as simply as feeling happy. These includes emotional dysregulation (Lee et al., 2025), Emotional self-regulation, social emotional competence (Ferguson et al., 2025), positive and negative affect (Poulos et al.,2026) and internalising and externalising mental health symptoms (Dodd et al., 2026).
- Recent studies have different findings about outdoor play and children's emotional functioning . (Ferguson et al., 2025) found that more outdoor play was associated with better social-emotional competence. In a longitudinal study, Dodd et al., (2026) predicted that children who played outdoors more often during the preschool days were less likely to have less favourable mental health trajectories later in childhood. However, findings are not equally even across all children, settings and measures.
- The relationship between outdoor play and emotional well-being appears to be more complex than simply playing more time outdoors . Emotional self-regulation, Physical activity, Working memory, social interaction, freedom and the opportunities provided by different outdoor environments are possible factors to consider (Davenport et al.,2025; Dodd et al., 2026; Gross, 2015; Lee et al.,2025).
- Access to the outdoors is not equal . Beekhuizen et al. (2025) found that children with disabilities experienced physical, social and practical barriers and these barriers have made outdoor play less accessible. Ferguson et al. (2025) also showed that outdoor play experiences and their relationship with social-emotional outcomes varied across different social contexts.
What are outdoor play and children's emotional well-being? How does outdoor play influence children's emotional well-being? How do social and environmental conditions shape children's outdoor play experiences? What does recent research show about the relationship between outdoor play and children's emotional well-being? How can families, communities and school support outdoor play opportunities that may benefit children's emotional well-being? |
Understanding Outdoor play and emotional well-being
[edit | edit source]- Outdoor play includes different activities and takes place across various outdoor environments. It involves movement, exploration, social play, challenge, and interaction with various outdoor environments. Recent research has examined both children's outdoor play and features of environment where play happens (Dodd et al.,2026; Pereira et al.,2024).
- Outdoor play and physical activity can overlap however they should not be considered as the same concept. Davenport et al. (2025) examined outdoor play separately from their outdoor moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA).
- Children's emotional well-being is measured through different outcomes. Recent research on outdoor play has examined emotional dysregulation (Lee et al., 2025), social-emotional competence (Ferguson et al., 2025), positive and negative affect after recess (Poulos et al.,2026), and internalising and externalising mental health symptoms (Dodd et al.,2026).
Outdoor play
[edit | edit source]- Outdoor play is defined as voluntary and intrinsically motivated activity that occurs in outdoor environments like gardens, playgrounds, parks and natural spaces (Dodd et al., 2026). Free play can be also self-directed, allowing children to freely interact with their environment and have autonomy to make choices over their activities (Biino et al., 2025).
- Outdoor play should not be treated as equivalent to outdoor physical activity. Davenport et al. (2024) examined parent-reported and device-measured outdoor play among 107 preschool children and tested whether associations with physical, cognitive and social-emotional developmental indicators were independent of outdoor moderate to vigorous physical activity. Distinguishing these measures are important because research on children's outdoor play is not necessarily measuring the same behaviour as research on the intensity of physical activity.
- Outdoor play environment contains different physical features. Pereira et al. (2024) systematically reviewed 51 articles representing 45 primary studies and examined outdoor play space features including fixed structures, space naturalness, floor markings, loose parts or equipment, available area and combinations of environmental features. Physical activity was the most frequently examined outcome, and heterogeneity between studies limited conclusions about the effects of individual outdoor play features. The findings should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of effects on children's emotional well-being.
- Affordance theory provides different perspective of examining relationships between outdoor environments and children's play. Morgenthaler et al. (2024) used the theory of affordances to examine environment play transactions and developed an Environmental Taxonomy of Outdoor Play Space Features. The review identified 284 distinct play occupations afforded by different spaces and objects and examined the functional environmental qualities associated with these opportunities. This provides evidence that physical characteristics of outdoor spaces can afford different forms of play. It does not establish that particular environmental affordances cause better emotional well-being.
Children's emotional well-being
[edit | edit source]- Children's emotional well-being is represented through different outcomes in the recent outdoor play research. Studies have examined emotional dysregulation (Lee et al., 2025), social-emotional competence (Ferguson et al., 2025), positive and negative affect (Poulos et al., 2026), and internalising and externalising symptoms (Dodd et al., 2026).
- Lee et al. (2025) examined emotional dysregulation among 325 preschool children in relation to the amount and timing of outdoor play and also examined working memory as a statistical mediator. The mediation findings are considered in the psychological-process section.
- Ferguson et al. (2025) examined social-emotional competence, including difficulties and prosocial behaviour. This is different from lee et al. (2025) measure of emotional dysregulation.
- Poulos et al. (2026) examined positive and negative affect following recess in an outdoor schoolyard, gymnasium and classroom, while Dodd et al. (2026) examined trajectories of internalising and externalising symptoms using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Dodd et al. also defined emotional symptoms and peer problems for internalising symptoms and conduct problems and hyperactivity inattention for externalising symptoms.
- These differences in measurement are significant because different aspects and time frames of children's emotional functioning should not be interpreted as equivalent when findings across the studies are compared.
Table:1
| Emotional outcomes examined in recent research on outdoor play and children's emotional being | ||
| Study | Outcome Examined | What the outcome represents in the study |
| Lee et al. (2025) | Emotional dysregulation | Difficulties in emotional regulation; examined in relation to the amount and timing of outdoor play |
| Ferguson et al. (2025) | Social emotional competence | Social- emotional difficulties and prosocial behaviour |
| Poulos et al. (2026) | Positive and negative affect | Children's affect following following recess in different settings |
| Dodd et al. (2026) | Internalising and externalising symptoms | Internalising; emotional symptoms and peer problems; externalising; conduct problems and hyperactivity-inattention |
As shown in Table 1, the studies examine different aspects and time frames of children's emotional functioning. Affect following recess should not be treated as the same outcome as emotional dysregulation measured over several months or trajectories of internalising and externalising symptoms across childhood.
Key points
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How does outdoor play influence children's emotional well-being?
[edit | edit source]- Lee et al. (2025) examined working memory as possible process between outdoor play and emotional regulation. Dodd et al.(2026) discussed cognitive, social and emotional skills development, social interaction, physical activity, connection with the nature, adventurous play as possible measures for association between outdoor play and mental health symptoms.
- Lee et al. (2025) examined 325 preschool children and used meditation analysis to test whether the timing and amount of outdoor play were related to emotional dysregulation and working memory.
- Dodd et al. (2026) found that more frequent outdoor play during the preschool years predicted healthier mental health trajectories into middle childhood. The study used nationally representative longitudinal cohort and suggest possible pathways that includes cognitive, social and emotional skills development, exposure and relation with the nature, physical activity, social interaction and adventurous play.
- These pathways were proposed by Dodd et al.(2025) but not directly tested as mechanisms. The findings of the study do not shows outdoor play causes better emotional well-being. Many of the existing outdoor play research remains observational (De Lannoy et al., 2023).
Emotion regulation
[edit | edit source]- Emotional self-regulation regulation provides an understanding of how children manage emotional situations. Gross (2015) describes emotional regulation as a process involving identification, selection and implementation. Identification concerns deciding whether to regulate an emotion, selection concerns selecting regulation strategy and implementation concerns applying chosen response into practice.
- Gross (2015) describes various forms of emotion regulation like situation selection, situation modification, attention deployment cognitive change and response modulation. During outdoor play a child may experience frustration, conflict, disagreement, uncertainty or changes to their activity. These process provide a psychological framework for understanding how people respond to emotional situations. This model can be applied to these outdoor play situations to consider how children might recognise emotional response, decide how to manage the situation, and act on that decision.
- However, this is an application of Gross (2015) theoretical framework to outdoor play. This study did not examine whether outdoor play influence to children's emotion regulation.
Working memory and cognitive process
[edit | edit source]- Lee et al. (2025) examined working memory as a mediator between outdoor play and emotional dysregulation among 325 preschool children. Outdoor play was examined across three part of the day: wake-up to noon, noon to 6 pm and 6 pm to bedtime.
- The timing of outdoor play was important. More outdoor play between noon and 6 pm was related to lower emotional dysregulation. In contrast, more outdoor play before noon and after 6 pm was related to higher emotional dysregulation (Lee et al. 2025).
- Lee et al (2025) found that more outdoor play from noon to 6 pm was associated with better working memory (b=1.61, p<.05) and better working memory was associated with lower emotional dysregulation (b= -0.08, p< .01). This relation between noon to 6pm outdoor play and emotional dysregulation as no longer statistically significant when working memory was included in the analysis. As a result it is reported as full mediation.
- The findings suggest that working memory can be one cognitive functioning process involved in the association between outdoor play and emotional regulation. However, statistical mediation in an observational study which does not prove that outdoor play caused better working memory or emotional regulation. Lee et al. (2025) called for further research examining both immediate and longer-term effects of outdoor play on working memory and emotion regulation.
Key points
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Social and environmental influences on outdoor play
[edit | edit source]- Outdoor play opportunities are shaped by more than the physical being outdoor space. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) interviewed 40 children aged 6 to 12, with and without disabilities about facilitators and barriers to inclusive outdoor play. The findings were identified personal factor, interacting factors and environmental factors.
- Personal factors included experiencing autonomy, and children's feelings of physical and social limitations. Interacting factors included making contact, growing up together, and adopting the ways of playing. Environmental factors included parents, outdoor play environments, communities, and time constrains (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- Opportunities for outdoor play was not experienced in the same way by all children. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) found that children with disabilities experienced more barriers than children with no disability. The challenges were related to making contact with other children, adopting play and the physical play environment.
- Ferguson et al. (2025) examined the association between outdoor play and children's social-emotional competence. In a cross sectional analysis of 2568 children, aged 7.1 to 12.6 years from multi-ethnic urban cohort found that outdoor play was associated with better social-emotional competence. However, the association was differed across ethnicity, and weekday or weekend outdoor play.
- Ferguson et al. (2025) also examined area deprivation. The relation between outdoor play and social-emotional competence appeared stronger in less deprived area, although the statistical evidence for the differences by deprivation was significantly weak.
Social relationship and inclusion
[edit | edit source]- Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified making contact and growing up together as interacting factors in inclusive outdoor play. Some children described familiarity with other children as an easy way to approach, communication and play together. Making contact could also be a barrier when children approaching to another unfamiliar children or joining in play who were already playing.
- Children also described the need to adopt games so that children with different abilities could participate. School and communities were identified settings where children with and without disabilities could become familiar with each other (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- In the recent observational research by Beekhuizen et al. (2026) observed outdoor play among children with and without disability. The researchers found that getting to know each other, making contact and interaction while playing together as process of inclusive outdoor play. These observational findings showed that familiarity and making contact determine social and inclusive play because children chose to play with children they already knew.
- Ferguson et al. (2025) also found that the association between outdoor play and social emotional competence was not the same across all ethnic and deprivation groups. In the cross sectional analysis of 2568 children aged 7.1 to 12.6 years from multi ethnic urban cohort, outdoor play was associated with better social-emotional competence. However, associations varies across same ethnic groups and according to weekday or weekend outdoor play.
Autonomy, parents and time
[edit | edit source]- Experiencing autonomy was identified as a personal factor in inclusive outdoor play. Children having some independence during outdoor play could promote their sense of independence over what they do and who they play with (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- Experiencing autonomy also included opportunities to play without direct involvement of parents. Some children with disabilities described wanting to play outside independently, although parental support could make outdoor play possible (Beekhuizen et al., 2025)
- Parents were identified as an environmental factors. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) found that parental involvement could support children's participation in outdoor play, specially when child needed help to access or participate in outdoor play.
- Time constraints were considered as another environmental factor. Some children with disabilities were described as having limited outdoor play time due to parents work schedule, after-school arrangements or longer travel distance between home and school (Beekhuizen et al., 2025)
Outdoor environments and accessibility
[edit | edit source]- The outdoor play environment was identified as an environmental factor that could could support or restrict inclusive outdoor play. Children described both physical and social aspects of outdoor play environments. For example, children discussed the importance of physical and social safety, including traffic near playgrounds and disputes among children. Accessibility was particularly relevant to children with disabilities because opportunities for inclusive outdoor play could be affected by play environments and physical abilities (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- Pereira et al. (2024) provided evidence about the physical features of outdoor play spaces. Their systematic review included 51 articles representing 45 primary studies aged between 5 to 12 and examined particular environmental features like fixed structures, natural elements, floor marking, loose parts or equipment and available play area.
- Pereira et al. (2024) found positive association between outdoor play space features and children's behaviours. However, there was substantial variation between studies so the review could not establish clear conclusions about the effects of particular environmental features.
Key points
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What does recent research show about outdoor play and children's emotional well-being?
[edit | edit source]- Recent research has examined various aspects of outdoor play and children's emotional well-being and provides mixed evidence. These include emotional dysregulation (Lee et al., 2025), social-emotional competence (Ferguson et al., 2025), positive and negative affect (Poulos et al., 2026), and internalising and externalising symptoms (Dodd et al., 2026).
- Ferguson et al. (2025) found that more frequent outdoor play was associated with better social-emotional competence. However, the associations varied across some ethnic groups and according to whether outdoor play occurred on school days or weekends.
- Dodd et al. (2026) provides longitudinal evidence from 4,151 children from the Growing Up in Scotland study. Children who played outdoors more frequently between approximately 2 and 4 years of age were more likely to follow a trajectory of low and stable internalising and externalising symptoms through to age 8.
- Poulos et al. (2026) examined children's emotional state immediately after recess during hot weather. Among 317 children in years 4 and 5, the positive effect was higher after outdoor recess and gymnasium recess than after classroom recess. There were no significant differences in negative affect between the three recess settings.
- Together, these studies show evidence of associations between outdoor play or outdoor recess and several aspects of emotional well-being. However, the studies did not show the common effect because the study differ in children's ages, research designs, measures of outdoor play, and emotional outcomes.
Consistency of recent research findings
[edit | edit source]- Recent findings do not show the same effect across all outcomes. Ferguson et al. (2025) found that more frequent outdoor play was associated with lower total difficulties and greater prosocial behaviour. In contrast, Davenport et al. (2024) found that most associations between outdoor play and the physical, cognitive and social-emotional developmental indicators examined were not statistically significant. Therefore, the recent studies have not found significant association across all developmental outcomes.
- Findings can also differ according to the emotional outcome being measured. Poulos et al. (2026) found higher positive affect after outdoor and gymnasium recess than after classroom recess, but no significant differences in negative affect between the three recess settings. Lee et al. (2025) found that lower emotional dysregulation associated with greater afternoon outdoor play but higher emotional dysregulation is associated with greater outdoor play earlier and later in the day.
- Dodd et al. (2026) provides longer-term evidence. More frequent outdoor play during the preschool years predicted lower odds of belonging to the increasing or decreasing internalising and externalising symptom trajectory groups, relative to the normative low and stable group. This shows an association between early outdoor play and mental-health symptom trajectories across childhood rather than an emotional outcome measured at one point in time.
- Associations may also vary across children and outdoor play contexts. Ferguson et al. (2025) reported differences according to ethnicity and whether outdoor play occurred on school days or weekends.
- Recent findings suggest that associations between outdoor play and emotional well-being are not the same across all outcomes, children and play contexts. The studies differ in children's age, research designs, measures of outdoor play, and emotional outcomes. Thus, findings should not be treated as evidence of one single effect.
Strengths and limitations of current research
[edit | edit source]- Longitudinal research strengthens the evidence concerning temporal relationship. Dodd et al. (2026) analysed 4,151 children from the Growing Up in Scotland study. Outdoor play was measured at approximately 2, 3 and 4 years of age, while internalising and externalising symptoms were measured at approximately 4, 5, 6 and 8 years. This allowed the researchers to examine whether early outdoor play predicted different mental-health symptom trajectories across childhood.
- Although, longitudinal evidence does not establish cause and effect. Dodd et al. (2026) identified reliance on parent report measures as a key limitation, while Lee et al. (2025) also discussed about the possibility of reverse causation when interpreting associations between the timing of outdoor play and emotional dysregulation.
- Measurement of outdoor play is another important consideration. Davenport et al. (2024) examined both parent reported and device measured outdoor play and also tested whether associations were independent of outdoor moderate to vigorous physical activity. This approach distinguishes outdoor play from outdoor physical activity rather than interchangeable measures.
- Limitations are also present across the wider outdoor play literature. De Lannoy et al. (2023) identified 275 Canadian outdoor play publications and found that cross sectional study design was most common. Mental and emotional development had received less research attention in comparison to physical health and development.
| Study | Research method | Research strength | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lee et al. (2025) | Observational; 6 month follow-up | Examined the timing of outdoor play and tested working memory as a statistical mediator of the association with emotional dysregulation. | Observational mediation cannot establish causation; the authors also considered possible reverse causation when interpreting timing-related findings. |
| Ferguson et al. (2025) | Cross sectional; multi ethnic urban cohort (N=2,568) | Large sample allowed associations to be examined across population groups and school-day/weekend outdoor play. | Cross-sectional design cannot establish temporal direction; associations also differed across some groups and play contexts. |
| Davenport et al. (2024) | Observational; preschool sample (N=107) | Used both parent-reported and device-measured outdoor play and distinguished outdoor play from outdoor moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) | Small sample , and most tested associations with developmental outcomes were not statistically significant. |
| Dodd et al. (2026) | Longitudinal cohort (N = 4,151) | Outdoor play was measured in the preschool years before later internalising and externalising symptom trajectories. | Outdoor play and symptoms relied on parent reported measures, and the observational design does not establish conclusions. |
| Poulos et al. (2026) | Recess comparison study (N=317) | Compared children's positive and negative affect following outdoor, gymnasium and classroom recess rather than using outdoor recess without a comparison setting. | Examined immediate affect during an extreme-heat context; higher positive affect was also found after gymnasium recess, so the result was not specific to outdoor recess. |
As shown in table 2, the recent evidence has different methodological strengths and limitations. Longitudinal data provide stronger evidence about temporal ordering than cross-sectional studies, while the use of parent-reported and device-measured outdoor play addresses some measurement concerns. However, much of the evidence remains observational, several studies rely on parent-reported measures, and differences in emotional outcomes and play contexts limit the direct comparison between studies.
Key points
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How do families, communities and schools support outdoor play opportunities?
[edit | edit source]- Opportunities for outdoor play are influenced by children's social and physical environments. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified parents, outdoor play environments, communities and time constraints as environmental factors that could act as facilitators or barriers to inclusive outdoor play.
- Support for outdoor play also involves whether children can participate with other children. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified experiencing autonomy, growing up together, making contact and adapting ways of playing as factors involved in inclusive outdoor play.
- The 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play recommends increasing opportunities for active outdoor play in settings where people live, learn, work and play. It also emphasises collaboration across sectors, settings and societies to support equitable access to active outdoor play (Lee et al., 2025).
Families
[edit | edit source]- Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified parents as an environmental factor in inclusive outdoor play. Children with disabilities described parents as important in encouraging participation and, for some children, helping to explain their disability to other children.
- Experiencing autonomy was identified as an important personal factor. Some children with disabilities wanted their parents to allow them freedom during outdoor play. Some preferred their parents not to accompany them to the playground, while others were comfortable with parents remaining at a reasonable distance (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- These findings indicate that parental support and children's autonomy can both be relevant to opportunities for outdoor play. For some children with disabilities, support could be necessary for participation while opportunities to play more independently were also valued (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified parental support as important for facilitating positive inclusive play experiences. The authors also recommended providing children and parents with knowledge about disabilities and possible adaptations that can support participation
- Family level opportunities also need to be interpreted alongside the time constraints. Some children attending special education described long journeys between school and home that reduced the time available for outdoor play (Beekhuizen et al., 2025). This means that opportunities for outdoor play cannot be interpreted only in terms of children's or parents' preferences.
Communities
[edit | edit source]- Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified communities and the outdoor play environment as environmental factors in inclusive outdoor play. Children described physically and socially safe playgrounds as important. While barriers included structure of playgrounds that made participation difficult for some children with disabilities.
- The social environment of a community was also important. Children with disabilities described smaller communities, such as villages and schools, the places where other children and parents could become more familiar with disability. This familiarity was associated with greater acceptance and stronger connections with other children (Beekhuizen et al., 2025).
- Recent observational research also shows that physical access alone does not explain inclusive outdoor play. Beekhuizen et al. (2026) observed 63 children with and without disabilities during six inclusive outdoor play sessions and assessed both children's playfulness and environmental supportiveness. Children with disabilities showed significantly lower playfulness scores indicating that opportunities for inclusive play were not experienced equally.
- The 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play recommends collaboration across sectors, settings and societies to preserve, promote and value equitable access to active outdoor play. This places responsibility for outdoor play opportunities across communities and wider systems rather than on children and families alone (Lee et al., 2025).
Schools
[edit | edit source]- Schools can provide opportunities for children with and without disabilities to become familiar with one another. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified growing up together and making contact as interacting factors in inclusive outdoor play. Children described familiarity with other children as making contact easier.
- School circumstances can also affect the time and opportunities available for outdoor play. Some children attending special primary education described long travel times between school and home as reducing the time available to play outdoors. Beekhuizen et al. (2025) identified these experiences under time constraints.
- Recess provides another school setting in which children's emotional experiences have been examined. Poulos et al. (2026) studied 317 Year 4 and 5 children during extreme heat weather and found significantly higher positive affect after outdoor and gymnasium recess than after classroom recess. There were no significant differences in negative affect between the three recess settings.
- Poulos et al. (2026) identified implications for school health, policy and equity, including the need for heat adaptive infrastructure to support access to recess environments during extreme heat. However, the findings do not show that outdoor recess is always better than indoor recess because positive affect was also higher following gymnasium recess.
Quiz
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Quiz
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Quiz
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| 1. Children who have access to the same outdoor playground may still have different opportunities to participate in play.
True False 2. Outdoor play has the same relationship with children's emotional well-being regardless of how door play or emotional well being is measured. True False |
| Scenario
Two primary school aged children A and B enjoy playing outdoors. They both lived near the same playground. Child A was very familiar with the playground and knows several other children who play there and easily join the games. While child B has disability, uses mobility device and does not know other children at playground. Some parts of the playground are difficult to access and joining other children who are already playing can also be challenging. Child B's parents can provide support, although the child also prefers to play more independently. Consider both children can access the same playground, but do they have same level opportunities to take part in outdoor play? |
Note: Answers to the quiz is 1: True and 2 False
Conclusion
[edit | edit source]- Outdoor play and children's emotional well-being are measured in different ways across recent research. Outdoor play is not equivalent to outdoor physical activity, while emotional outcomes include emotional dysregulation, social-emotional competence, positive and negative affect, and internalising and externalising symptoms. These differences need to be considered when findings across studies are compared.
- Research also provides mixed evidence about how outdoor play may be related to emotional well-being. Gross's (2015) emotion-regulation framework can be applied to emotional situations experienced during play, but it does not show that outdoor play improves emotion regulation. Lee et al. (2025) provides more direct evidence of a possible cognitive process, with working memory statistically mediating the association between afternoon outdoor play and lower emotional dysregulation. However, this observational finding does not establish causation.
- Recent findings are not consistent across all outcomes or contexts. Ferguson et al. (2025) reported associations with better social-emotional competence, Dodd et al. (2026) found longitudinal associations with internalising and externalising symptom trajectories, and Poulos et al. (2026) found differences in positive but not negative affect following recess. In contrast, most associations examined by Davenport et al. (2024) were not statistically significant.
- Recent findings are not consistent across all outcomes or contexts. Ferguson et al. (2025) reported associations with better social-emotional competence, Dodd et al. (2026) found longitudinal associations with internalising and externalising symptom trajectories, and Poulos et al. (2026) found differences in positive but not negative affect following recess. In contrast, most associations examined by Davenport et al. (2024) were not statistically significant.
- Overall, current research supports an association between outdoor play and some aspects of children's emotional well-being but does not establish one consistent effect. Differences in measurement, research design, children and play contexts remain important when interpreting the evidence.
See also
[edit | edit source]
https://www-taylorfrancis-com.ezproxy.canberra.edu.au/books/mono/10.4324/9781003349655/right-child-play-naomi-lott Book Chapter, 2
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emotional_dysregulation- Wikipedia article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Autonomy- Wikipedia article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longitudinal_study-Wikipedia article
https://en.wikiversity.org/wiki/Cognitive_psychology-Wikipedia article
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Affordance-Wikipedia article
References
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Davenport, C., Kuzik, N., Larouche, R., & Carson, V. (2025). The Associations Between Parental-Reported and Device-Based Measured Outdoor Play and Health Indicators of Physical, Cognitive, and Social–Emotional Development in Preschool-Aged Children. Pediatric Exercise Science, 37(2), 102–111. https://doi.org/10.1123/pes.2023-0119
de Lannoy, L., Barbeau, K., Seguin, N., & Tremblay, M. S. (2023). Scoping review of children’s and youth’s outdoor play publications in Canada. Chronic Diseases in Canada, 43(1), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.24095/hpcdp.43.1.01
Dodd, H. F., Cordwell, K., Hesketh, K., Johnstone, A., de la Torre-Luque, A., & McCrorie, P. (2026). Early outdoor play predicts trajectories of child mental health in a population-based cohort. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcpp.70175
Ferguson, M., Teyhan, A., Lovell, R., Dodd, H., Wheeler, B., & McEachan, R. (2025). The association between park visits, outdoor play and child social-emotional competency in a multi-ethnic, urban cohort. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 9, Article 100293. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2025.100293
Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion Regulation: Current Status and Future Prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/1047840X.2014.940781
Lee, E.-Y., de Lannoy, L., Kim, Y.-B., Rathod, A., James, M. E., Lopes, O., Nasrallah, B., Thankarajah, A., Adjei-Boadi, D., de Barros, M. I. A., Duncan, S., Miller, R. M., Mygind, L., Vanderloo, L. M., Wang, P.-Y., & Tremblay, M. S. (2025). 2025 Position statement on active outdoor play. The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 22(1), Article 117. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12966-025-01813-9
Lee, J. J., Flouri, E., & Jackson, Y. (2025). The Role of Timing and Amount of Outdoor Play in Emotional Dysregulation in Preschool Children. Child: Care, Health & Development, 51(1), Article e70020. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.70020
Morgenthaler, T., Lynch, H., Loebach, J., Pentland, D., & Schulze, C. (2024). Using the Theory of Affordances to Understand Environment–Play Transactions: Environmental Taxonomy of Outdoor Play Space Features—A Scoping Review. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78(4), Article 7804185120. https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2024.050606
Pereira, J. V., Vila-Nova, F., Veiga, G., Lopes, F., & Cordovil, R. (2024). Associations between outdoor play features and children’s behavior and health: A systematic review. Health & Place, 87, Article 103235. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2024.103235
Poulos, A., Hassan, U. A., Wilson, K., Price, P. M., Vanos, J., & Quilla, J. (2026). Differences in Schoolchildren’s Emotional State After Indoor Versus Outdoor Recess in Extreme‐Heat Weather. The Journal of School Health, 96(4), Article e70135. https://doi.org/10.1111/josh.70135
External links
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https://www.child-encyclopedia.com/outdoor-play-Encyclopedia in early childhood development
https://www.outdoorplaycanada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/The-2025-AOP10-Position-Statement.pdf-Position Statement
https://www.who.int/news/item/24-04-2019-to-grow-up-healthy-children-need-to-sit-less-and-play-more-World Health Organisation