Children's outdoor playtime, physical activity, and parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between the hours of outdoor play and objective measures of physical activity and identify the correlates of outdoor playing time in terms of parental perceptions of the neighbourhood environment. Time spent in outdoor play, both on a typical weekday and a typical weekend day, and neighbourhood perceptions, was assessed by parental self-report for 889 students attending grades 5 and 6 in Toronto, Canada (mean age: 10.50 ± 0.72 years). Physical activity was assessed by accelerometry. Ordered logit models were estimated to explore the influence of neighbourhood perceptions on the time spent playing outdoors. Regardless of a child's age and sex, duration of play was significantly correlated with minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Parental concerns about strangers and fast drivers were inversely associated with duration of play on a typical weekday. Parental safety concerns continue to present a formidable barrier to greater outdoor play.