Third of children do not play outdoors after school, UK research finds

Study finds outdoor play has positive effect on children’s social and emotional skills

One in three children do not play outdoors after school and a fifth do not at the weekend, according to research that found outdoor play has a beneficial impact on young people’s developing social and emotional skills.

The University of Exeter study looked at data from 2,500 children between sevenand 12 from the multiethnic Born in Bradford research programme, which tracks the health, development and wellbeing of mothers and children from pregnancy onwards.