TY - JOUR
T1 - An exploration of infant and toddler unstructured outdoor play
AU - Dinkel, Danae
AU - Snyder, Kailey
AU - Patterson, Tyler
AU - Warehime, Shane
AU - Kuhn, Miriam
AU - Wisneski, Debora
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the University of Nebraska Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2019, © 2019 EECERA.
PY - 2019/3/4
Y1 - 2019/3/4
N2 - Unstructured outdoor play is important for children's development. The present study examined infants’ and toddlers’ physical and social unstructured outdoor play behaviors within childcare centers. Children's outdoor play behaviors were video recorded at two centers (A&B) and assessed using a modified version of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children in Preschool (OSRAC-P). Children in this study primarily took part in active play (56.7%) and engaged in play without any type of prompting from a teacher (91.2%). There was a significant interaction between the effect of center and location on physically active play (p < 0.001). Children at Center B were most active in open play areas (77.6%), while children at Center A were most active in gross motor play areas (72.2%). In sum, the outdoor play environment influences infants’ and toddlers’ physical and social play behaviors; however, more research is needed to determine the optimal environment for development.
AB - Unstructured outdoor play is important for children's development. The present study examined infants’ and toddlers’ physical and social unstructured outdoor play behaviors within childcare centers. Children's outdoor play behaviors were video recorded at two centers (A&B) and assessed using a modified version of the Observational System for Recording Physical Activity in Children in Preschool (OSRAC-P). Children in this study primarily took part in active play (56.7%) and engaged in play without any type of prompting from a teacher (91.2%). There was a significant interaction between the effect of center and location on physically active play (p < 0.001). Children at Center B were most active in open play areas (77.6%), while children at Center A were most active in gross motor play areas (72.2%). In sum, the outdoor play environment influences infants’ and toddlers’ physical and social play behaviors; however, more research is needed to determine the optimal environment for development.
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U2 - 10.1080/1350293X.2019.1579550
DO - 10.1080/1350293X.2019.1579550
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85061608647
VL - 27
SP - 257
EP - 271
JO - European Early Childhood Education Research Journal
JF - European Early Childhood Education Research Journal
SN - 1350-293X
IS - 2
ER -