UK Survey Says Kids Prefer Outdoor Play

A new UK survey by the Children’s Play Council has found that the majority of children prefer to play outdoors, rather than indoors with video games. The survey, as reported by newspaper The UK Guardian and others, involved 543 children aged between seven and fourteen years of age, and found that 86 of children preferred to play outside, with 72 percent expressing a desire to do so more often. The survey listed specific activities such as constructing dens and playing in mud as being preferable to playing video games. "What children are telling us is that they want more opportunities to play out, in stimulating natural spaces where they can have fun, be with their friends and use their imagination," said Adrian Voce, director of the Children's Play Council. "It is vital for both national and local governments to take this message on board if they are to meet the play needs of today's children and young people." The results were published in order to mark Playday, an annual celebration of children’s play in the UK. Although there is no suggestion that the results indicate a recent change in attitudes of young children it does further discredit the traditional image of video games being purely for children, with a recent ESA study in the U.S. showing the average age of video games players to be in the early thirties.