By: Dominick Celtruda, PLA, Senior Project Manager, Landscape Architecture — It’s an undeniable fact that children today are more comfortable indoors with an electronic device in their hand than outside with a stick, rock or even a football.

However studies show that:
• Children are spending half as much time outdoors as they did 20 years ago. (Juster et al 2004); (Burdette & Whitaker 2005); (Kuo & Sullivan 2001)
• Today, kids 8-18 years old devote an average of 7 hours and 38 minutes using entertainment media in a typical day (more than 53 hours a week). (Kaiser Family Foundation)
• In a typical week, only 6% of children ages 9-13 play outside on their own. (Children & Nature Network, 2008)
• Children who play outside are more physically active, more creative in their play, less aggressive and show better concentration. (Burdette and Whitaker, 2005; Ginsburg et al., 2007
• Sixty minutes of daily unstructured free play is essential to children’s physical and mental health. (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008)

Why is this information important to site designers? Read the full article to find out.