The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
PARENTS SHOULDN’T LET WINTER WEATHER CUT DOWN ON OUTDOOR PLAY FOR CHILDREN
As Atlantic Canadians hunker down and brace for winter storm systems, pediatricians are concerned that children will not spend enough time in free play outdoors during the winter months.
The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS), a national advocacy group made up of more than 3,000 pediatricians, is not playing around as they sound the alarm about research showing children are spending more of their recreational time indoors, often on screens, than playing outside with minimal supervision.
In a January 2024 position statement, the society said play is essential for children’s development and for their physical, mental, and social health, as children engaged in free play are also building social and executive functioning skills that are critical for school readiness and lifelong achievement.
Family and social trends have increasingly prioritized the supervision and protection of children over the past several years, according to the statement.
As well, the statement said there has been a shift in the balance of play, with unscheduled free play outdoors steadily giving way to planned, structured activities, including extracurriculars and academics, in the lives of most children.
The CPS statement referenced the 2022 Participaction Report Card, which gave Canadian children a “D” grade for overall physical activity and a “D−’” for active play.
However, the CPS acknowledged newer strategies are being designed to keep children “as safe as necessary” rather than “as safe as possible.”
This is part of a more balanced approach to healthy and active living that encourages the developmental benefits of risk-taking while also preventing injury, the CPS said in the statement.
RISKS VS. HAZARDS
Alex Smith, of Halifax, is a father, the founder/editor of the PlayGroundology blog, and an advocate for a wider variety of play opportunities for kids in public spaces.
Smith said he observed that over the last 10 to 15 years, there’s been a decrease in independent outdoor play at all times of the year.
“For a period of time, there was a lot of handwringing around risk,” Smith said.
“And I do understand there isn’t any parent out there who wants to see their children come to harm, if it’s avoidable.”
But there are two different things, he points out.
“There are risks, and then there are hazards,” Smith said, differentiating between the two.
“Risk is healthy as long as it’s not hazardous. You can survive a grazed knee and a cut on your hand. You know, any number of things that are not grave kind of incidents.
“And in fact, they are a part, I think, of childhood. They are a part of learning, they’re part of growing up, they’re a part of exploration and experimentation. And all kids should, you know, have the opportunity to go there.”
Smith sees the winter landscape as providing children and families many fun possibilities for outdoor play opportunities, including tunnelling, sculpting, sledding, building snow forts, snowballing, snowbank jumping and, of course, making snow angels.
“Winter is a magical time of year, especially when snow is abundant,” Smith said.
“What a great element with so many different textures, types and possible uses that kids can explore in independent play. In the backyard or the neighbourhood green space, park, or playground, snow is nature’s ultimate loose parts, freely available for kids to manipulate in their chosen fashion.”
According to Smith, outdoor winter play has the added benefit of boosting Vitamin D intake and of exercising lower body muscles that are not usually called on as children play and move through snow.
Smith said families can spend time outside together hiking, cross-country and downhill skiing, and snowshoeing affordably because today many municipal recreation departments loan out equipment at no or low cost.
UNIQUE PLAY OPPORTUNITY
Devon Saila offers the public a rare winter outdoor play opportunity to interact with charming, cuddly critters on a snow- and ice-covered beach.
Saila is the owner of Beach Goats, near Summerside, P.E.I., where visitors can play outside, up close and hands-on, with 24 Nigerian dwarf goats dressed for the weather in colourful coats and vests.
Beach Goats is an outdoor play opportunity where screens become superfluous.
“The parents put their phones away. The kids put their phones away. The teenagers put their phones away,” Saila said.
The visitors accompany their curious new playmates down a snow-covered trail to a nearby beach, where they can play in the drifting snow and slide on the stacked slabs of sea ice pushed up by the shallow tide.
“And then, we’ll always have a fire up by the barn area. But if it’s a really nice day, we’ll build a fire down at the beach, too, and then we can roast marshmallows down at the beach as well. So that’s a lot of fun,” Saila said.
‘EMBRACE TIME PLAYING OUTSIDE’
TA Loeffler is a professor of outdoor education and recreation at Memorial University in St. John’s and an ardent advocate for the benefits of outdoor play in the winter.
“I absolutely agree that we need to do everything we can to help families, parents, schools embrace time playing outside,” said Loeffler.
But, she said, the Canadian winter can be a time when it’s even more difficult for children to play outside.
“It can be people are more worried about the various risks in wintertime, but given the amount of light and things that happen, it’s really important for all of us, especially for children to be outside, for part of it, hopefully every day in winter,” she said.
Loeffler is also a grandmother, who knows from experience the challenging logistics of dressing children to play outside and then dealing with wet snow clothes when they return.
She and her family use the bucket method. Each child has their own bucket or basket that contains all the mitts, hats, scarves, jackets, pants, and boots they will need for winter outdoor play. After they return to the house and their clothing is dry, it goes back in each child’s bucket for the next outdoor playtime.
Loeffler said when it’s time to go outside, no one needs to ask the usual questions: Where’s my boots? Where’s my gloves? Where’s my hat?
“So they can go right to their buckets,” said Loeffler.
Loeffler said parents can see the benefits of outdoor winter play reflected in children’s behaviour.
“They’re more settled, they sleep better, they are having less screen time. They’re easier to put to bed. There’s less fighting,” said Loeffler.
“They’ve got rosie cheeks and they’re much calmer and more able to make that transition to sleep.”