Fewer social interactions…
As much as we would like to keep our children indoors so that we can monitor them 24/7, not enough playtime outdoors may be counterproductive to their social development.
A study showed that children with stricter parental supervision spent less time playing with other children outside on a sunny day than children playing independently without supervision. With fewer contact with other children, their chances of forming new friendships, learning to resolve conflicts, and establishing themselves as part of a social group are restricted. As such, fewer opportunities to interact with other children may hinder a child’s development of social skills.
…fewer opportunities to develop maturity
The implications of supervision also extend to the independence and emotional maturity of children. A child who only plays in a structured outdoor time like in an organized team sport or in P.E. does not get to learn how to work together without an adult to moderate. With fewer chances to learn how to share and cooperate independently, they also would have fewer opportunities to learn how to resolve interpersonal conflicts in a mature way. This shows how shorter unstructured playtime outdoors may hinder a child’s independence to exercise their social skills and to foster emotional maturity when faced with problems.