Daily outdoor activities promoted behavioral and cognitive regulation skills for infants and toddlers attending childcare centersA growing research base indicates that outdoor activities in natural environments can improve psychological health, reduce stress levels, and encourage a range of developmental benefits among preschool and school-aged children. Importantly, such benefits may support children’s academic success and overall well-being. However, there is a paucity of research involving infants and toddlers, and, therefore, very little is known about the impact of outdoor activities on the development and well-being of very young children. This mixed-method quasi-experimental study aimed to address this gap by examining how daily outdoor activities (OA) in the schoolyards of childcare centers impact infants’ and toddlers’ stress levels, and socio-emotional, behavioral, and cognitive regulation skills. The study also investigated how childcare teachers’ perceptions of taking infants and toddlers outdoors changed after participation in the OA program.
The study was conducted with 95 infants and toddlers (average age 23 months) and 62 teachers from eight Italian childcare centers. The childcare centers were selected to serve either as an outdoor group (55 children) that participated in the OA intervention or a control group (40 children) that followed the standard curriculum. Prior to the intervention, teachers of the outdoor group participated in focus groups to share their perspectives about outdoor education. The OA intervention lasted four months and involved daily activities in the childcare centers’ outdoor green spaces, which included vegetated areas and playground equipment. During this time, teachers maintained a diary to monitor the frequency and type of OA the children participated in. OA types included exploration, motor activities, manipulation experiences, observation and learning about nature, and creative and narrative experiences. As part of the intervention, parents of children in the outdoor group met with a pediatrician and were sent a series of videos to increase their understanding of the importance of OA for physical and psychological health. Data was collected before and again after the intervention. Parents completed the Bayley Scales III questionnaire to evaluate their child’s socioemotional and adaptive behavior, which included subscales for communication, self-control, play, and social interactions. Children’s stress was assessed by salivary cortisol, a biological marker of stress, with saliva samples collected by parents in the early morning. Teachers completed the Early Executive Function (EEF) Scales, developed by the researchers for use in early educational settings, to assess each child’s behavioral and cognitive regulation skills. Three versions of this scale were designed and utilized for infants (6-12 months), infants in their second year, and toddlers in their third year. The scale evaluated attentional control, self-regulation (impulse control), and cognitive flexibility (skills related to working memory). A post-intervention focus group was held with teachers in the outdoor group to reflect on their experience with the OA program. Statistical analysis examined differences in physiological stress, socioemotional skills, adaptive behavior, and early executive functioning between the outdoor and control groups before and after the OA intervention. Teacher focus group discussions were thematically analyzed.
No significant differences in children’s stress as measured by salivary cortisol were found, suggesting that the OA program did not affect children’s stress levels. The researchers note that because not all families were willing to provide a salivary sample at both collection times, the results may have been influenced by the small sample size. Additionally, no significant differences were detected between the outdoor and control groups’ socioemotional skills or adaptive behavior in communication, play, or self-control constructs. However, significant increases were observed in the intervention group in children’s adaptive behavior during social interactions. Children’s scores on the Early Executive Function Scales also increased significantly within the outdoor group but not the control group, suggesting that the OA program improved children’s behavioral and cognitive regulation skills. Analysis also examined changes in teachers’ perceptions of OA before and after the intervention. Findings revealed that the intervention “impacted not only the organization and routines of the childcare centers but also how the teachers thought of outdoor education.” Specifically, prior to the intervention, teachers primarily perceived OA as free play and unstructured nature exploration. The intervention shifted these perceptions, and teachers reported integrating OA into their educational objectives and daily routines. Teachers also felt that it would be very difficult to involve infants in OA before the intervention. After the intervention, teachers “had completely changed their mind” and reported that OA had a strong positive impact on the youngest infants. Finally, teachers noted that older children were more apt to resolve peer conflicts independently when outdoors.
Importantly, this study adds to the evidence on the benefits of regular outdoor activities for infants and toddlers in childcare centers, an area that has been underexplored in the emerging literature. Although the study did not document reduced stress or improved socioemotional skill development, findings suggest that daily OA promoted the growth of behavioral and cognitive regulation skills in infants and toddlers. In particular, children in the outdoor group showed significant improvements in adaptive behavior, especially in situations requiring social interaction. This result aligns with teachers’ observations that children were more likely to manage conflicts outdoors than indoors. In addition, cognitive benefits were observed, as children participating in the OA program demonstrated significant improvements in attentional control and other early executive function skills. The researchers conclude that, “overall, our findings support the hypothesis that infants and toddlers who spend more time in OA may benefit from the natural resources offered by the external environment.”
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