Work

The Role of Timing and Amount of Outdoor Play in Emotional Dysregulation in Preschool Children

Year: 2024

Type: article

Abstract: ABSTRACT Background Currently, the time children spend playing outdoors is at an all‐time low. However, the existing literature suggests that outdoor play may have cognitive and emotional benefits for children. Methods The present study carried out a mediation analysis to explore whether amount and timing of outdoor play affects children's emotion regulation and whether working memory mediates these relations among 325 preschool children (Mage = 4.19, SD = 0.85) residing in a large Midwestern city in the United States. Results Results showed that greater amounts of outdoor play very early (i.e., wake‐up to noon) and very late (i.e., 6 PM to bedtime) in the day were related to greater emotional dysregulation. By contrast, greater amount of outdoor play from noon to 6 PM was related to lower emotional dysregulation. Importantly, the effect of amount of outdoor play from noon to 6 PM on emotion regulation was fully mediated by working memory. Conclusion The findings of the present study suggest that in early childhood outdoor play that supports children's circadian rhythms may have cognitive and, in turn, emotional benefits.

Source: Child Care Health and Development

DOI: 10.1111/cch.70020

Authors: Jane J. Lee, Eirini Flouri, Yo Jackson

Institutions: Pennsylvania State University, University College London

Language: English

Topic: Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development

Subfield: Clinical Psychology

Field: Psychology

Domain: Social Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: hybrid

Estimated APC paid: $3,730