Konferencer - Afsluttede

Child in the City, Stuttgart

October 2006

www.europoint-bv.com/events/?child2006

A room of their own – health and mobility through free play

Jeanette Fich Jespersen, KOMPAN Play Institute, International Manager

Due to the obesity epidemic the willingness to invest in nutrition and physical activity programs for children in public care has increased since the year 2000.

The programs often have in common that the child activities promoted are adult governed, as schools are driven by a considerable demand to measure and control. But many indicators point to the fact that the children’s own free play outdoors not only increases the mobility and physical health of the children but in fact boosts social contacts, self esteem and tolerance. There are strong indicators that outdoor activity increases concentration and learning skills, too, and high hopes that once active in childhood, you stay active even as a teenager and throughout your entire life.

To play professionals there is a clear connection between children’s free play outdoors in well planned play areas with a high degree of child ownership and their physical, social, emotional, cognitive and creative development. As institutional play areas grow to be main contributors to our children’s physical activity, the need for and benefits of free play within school settings need to be investigated further. This presentation will introduce a new research project run by the KOMPAN Play Institute, investigating the amount of calories expended and number of steps taken by 6-10yearolds during 30 minutes of free play in a varied school playground. There will be a comparison between calories expended when playing on play structures and when playing outside the structures.