05/30/2025
From yesterday's guest bloggers, Rachel Ramsden, PhD Candidate, School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia / Research Coordinator, Outside Play UBC, BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute and Dr. Mariana Brussoni, Director, Human Early Learning Partnership (HELP) / Director, Outside Play Lab / Professor, Pediatrics and School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia...
Outdoor play is widely recognized as essential to children’s development, shaping children’s health and well-being, sparking curiosity, building confidence, and nurturing lifelong skills. Although the importance of outdoor play as a central component of child care programs is clear, provision varies widely across programs in Canada. New research from the Outside Play Lab gives a national snapshot of what outdoor play looks like in child care programs, along with recommendations for policy and practice.
Existing legislation is a patchwork system
The provision of outdoor play in child care centres in Canada is complex and fragmented, with widely varying licensing regulations and practices. For example, some provinces/territories include mandatory daily outdoor time, while others do not.
The season makes a difference
Most child care centres report going outside every day in the summer, but significantly less so in the winter months. When looking across age groups, preschool-aged programs spend more time outdoors overall than infant and toddler-aged programs.
Risky play is limited
Most child care centres report limited opportunities for risky play. Play at heights—such as climbing trees or structures—is more commonly reported in preschool-aged programs but is largely absent in infant and toddler-aged programs. Activities such as using tools or engaging with fire are very rare, especially for infant and toddler-aged programs.
Factors that influence outdoor play provision
Centres where both educators and directors have outdoor play training report higher levels of outdoor and risky play. However, over 40% of centres do not have any staff with such training. Interestingly, centres with more long-tenured staff (5+ years) tend to report lower levels of risky play, suggesting that ongoing professional development is important.
Having the right clothing for the weather conditions makes a difference, especially during the colder, wetter months. Centres that provide both children and educators with all-weather gear spend more time outside, though over 40% of centres do not provide any gear.
Ensuring that children have the right to decide when and how they spend time outdoors is among the strongest correlates of outdoor play provision. Unfortunately, 50% of infant and toddler-aged programs and 44% of preschool-aged programs never or rarely give children this autonomy.
Features of the outdoor space, including loose parts, gardening elements, fixed equipment, and natural materials, are associated with greater outdoor and risky play opportunities. Larger outdoor play spaces and having direct access to those spaces from inside the centre are also important, and particularly beneficial for infant and toddler-aged programs.
Policy recommendations
1. Expand access to outdoor and risky play training in both pre-service and ongoing professional development for early childhood educators.
2. Support provision of all-weather gear for both children and early childhood educators.
3. Invest in resources and knowledge toolkits to supply and enhance outdoor play environments in child care centres, focusing on natural elements and loose parts.
4. Promote a shift toward embracing the benefits of outdoor and risky play over fear-based, risk-averse approaches and regulations."
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