Boys

Effects of Limiting Recreational Screen Media Use on Physical Activity and Sleep in Families With Children

Key Points Question  Does limiting recreational screen media use increase habitual physical activity in children? Findings  In this cluster randomized clinical trial that included 181 children and 164 adults from 89 families, an intervention designed to limit recreational screen use resulted in a mean (SD) increase in children’s nonsedentary time of 44.8 (63.5) minutes per day with …

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Getting Out of the Classroom and Into Nature: A Systematic Review of Nature-Specific Outdoor Learning on School Children’s Learning and Development

Background: The value of natural environments for developing children’s self-identity and social skills has been known for some time, and more recently the potential of nature-specific (i.e., excluding built environments) outdoor learning for achieving academic outcomes has been explored. Connecting children with natural spaces has been shown to benefit their physical and mental health; however, …

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Commissioner for Children and Young People Speaking Out Survey 2021

In the Commissioner’s second Speaking Out Survey, 16,532 children and young people from all regions of WA shared their experiences and views on safety, mental health, engagement in education, connection to community and how they access sources of support. The findings will be valuable for anyone working with children and young people, across both government …

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Most People Hate Physical Education and Most Drop Out of Physical Activity: In Search of Credible Curriculum Alternatives

High quality Physical Education should instigate and support all learners to develop into a lifelong participant in a way which upkeeps their own health, fitness, and well-being. There are, however, an ever-increasing number of children who drop out of participating in physical activities at the earliest opportunity, leading to an increase in sedentary lifestyles and a rise in childhood obesity.

The physical characteristics of children’s preferred natural settings in Australian primary school grounds

Highlights •Children express interest in plant species that offer affordances to their play. •Children prefer the natural settings located along the edges of main play spaces. •The boundaries around the natural settings influence children’s play types in them. •Children are sensitive to the condition of plants and prefer them well-maintained. •Children do not often experience …

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Dose-dependent and joint associations between screen time, physical activity, and mental wellbeing in adolescents: an international observational study

Summary Background Mental wellbeing in adolescents has declined considerably during past decades, making the identification of modifiable risk factors important. Prolonged screen time and insufficient physical activity appear to operate independently and synergistically to increase the risk of poor mental wellbeing in school-aged children. We aimed to examine the gender-stratified dose-dependent and joint associations of …

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Teaching traditional indoor school lessons in nature: The effects on student learning and behaviour

Abstract The natural environment is associated with better behaviour and academic performance in children. However, research to date has been cross-sectional and it is important for experimental studies to investigate if a causal relationship exists. Further, participant samples from areas characterised as disadvantaged are underrepresented in the research. This study investigates the effect that lessons …

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Childhood exercise as medicine: Extracurricular sport diminishes subsequent ADHD symptoms

Early sustained middle childhood involvement in organized sport seems beneficial for the subsequent behavioral development of girls but no associations were found for boys. Middle childhood participation in structured venues that demand physical skill and effort with a coach or instructor may thus represent a valuable policy strategy to promote this aspect of behavioral development for girls.

We Acknowledge
Nature Play WA acknowledges the Whadjuk people of the Noongar Nation, as the custodians of the land where our team lives and works. We also acknowledge the traditional custodians throughout Western Australia and recognise the continuing connection of Indigenous people to their land, waters, sky, culture and community. We pay our respect to all Indigenous people of this land; ancestors, elders and young ones.