A concern addressed in this study relates to a reduction over time in children's freedom to engage with the outdoor environment. Also of interest to this study is the question of what has replaced the decrease in children's independent outdoor play. The specific aim of this study was to explore changes in children's out-of-home leisure activities during the last decade in Norway.
Three types of out-of-home leisure activities were considered: unsupervised outdoor play, adult-organized play, and visits to a friend's house. The study was based on two nationally representative samples of children (age 6-12) and their parents in Norway. One sample is from the year 2005; the other from 2013– 2014. Survey responses from over 1000 parents from each time period were used in conducting this research. The parents were asked to complete the survey in cooperation with their child. In addition to demographic data (gender, age, housing situation, etc.), the survey also collected information about the extent of children's outdoor play and organized leisure activities, their interaction with friends, and travel to and from their out-of-home leisure activities.
Results showed that participation in organized activities one or more times during the week increased from 88% in 2005 to 92% in 2013–2014. This overall change in participation reflected an increase in sports activities versus other organized outdoor activities and was due primarily to increased participation among the youngest children (age 6-7). For both time periods, there were no gender differences in participation in different types of organized leisure activities, except for girls participating more in music activities than boys. Intensity of participation also increased over time. Just slightly over half of the 10- to 12-year-old children participated in organized leisure activities three or more times per week in 2005. This increased to 66% in 2013–2014. From 2005 to 2013-2014, there was a decrease in both the extent of unsupervised outdoor play and visits to friends' houses. For unsupervised play, this change was significant. Another key significant finding relates to potential interactions between participation in organized leisure activities, unsupervised outdoor play, and visits to friends. For those children who participated in organized activities, the more they took part in such activities, the more they also played outdoors without adult supervision and visited friends' homes.
These research findings “clearly suggest that a replacement has taken place in children's play during the last decade in Norway.” The fact that this study also found that higher participation in organized leisure activities was positively associated with a higher level of unsupervised outdoor play and visits to friend's homes indicates that organized activities do not take time away from unsupervised play outdoors nor is it at the expense of time with friends. Organized leisure activities may, in fact, help create networks of friends, which could be connected to more outdoor play and visits to friends. This research, however, cannot confirm this possibility.
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