The Many Benefits of Outdoor Play
The 2025 Position Statement on Active Outdoor Play was recently published in the International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity. The study synthesized 12 systematic reviews and input from 200+ global experts across all inhabited continents.
The organization behind it, Outdoor Play Canada, created this update 10 years after their influential 2015 statement. Why the update? Because research on outdoor play has increased tenfold in the past decade. That is both exciting and motivating.
Here are a few of the highlights:
"Active outdoor play can mediate the negative effects of screen time on neurodevelopmental outcomes." In other words, outdoor play has the ability to counteract the harm caused by screens.
Active outdoor play promotes holistic health and well-being for people of all ages, communities, and environments, as well as for our entire planet. The research identifies outdoor play as critical to addressing global challenges including health crises, climate change, and digital addiction.
The benefits of outdoor play are comprehensive:
- Movement & sleep: More physical activity, less sedentary behavior, less screen time, better sleep
- Confidence & resilience: Builds problem-solving skills through risk-taking and challenges
- Learning: Sparks curiosity, creativity, collaboration, and supports cognitive growth
- Community: Builds stronger communities and fosters belonging
- Climate resilience: Nurtures connection with nature and environmental stewardship
- Screen time: Can mediate the negative effects of screen time on neurodevelopmental outcomes
American children spend an average of 7 hours per day on screens and less than 1 hour outside. A nationally representative poll found that 1 in 10 parents of toddlers and preschoolers say their child plays outside only once a week or less.
But we are holding out hope. Schools across America are responding in bold ways. In Tulsa, an elementary school is "trading tech for trees" with an outdoor learning curriculum. In Ohio, students will soon learn to read in the "Tiger Den Reading Woods," an outdoor literacy trail. Utah just enacted a statewide default ban on cell phone use in schools. The movement is growing and we're honored to be a part of it.
