According to a study published in Child Psychiatry & Human Development, children who engaged in playing adventurously have lower symptoms of anxiety and depression through the first COVID-19 lockdown.

The study was led by researchers at the University of Exeter where they survey approximately 2,500 parents of children between the ages of 5 through 11 years old where they answered questions about their child’s play, pre-COVID mental health, and mental health and mood during the first COVID-19 lockdowns. They study included two cohorts of 427 from Ireland and 1919 from Great Britain.

Because many factors effects children’s mental health, even after controlling for certain variables such as age, sex, parent’s employment status, and other demographic info, they found that children who play adventurously outside had fewer “internalizing problems” such as anxiety of depression. They also had more positive mood.

They also found the effect was greater in children from lower income families.

“This is really positive because play is free, instinctive and rewarding for children, available to everyone, and doesn’t require special skills. We now urgently need to invest in and protect natural spaces, well-designed parks and adventure playgrounds, to support the mental health of our children,” remarked lead author, Helen Dodd.

How do you raise intelligent and resilient children? Nope, not television and video games. The answer is playing outside and/or playing in a fashion that allows their imagination to roam and they can enjoy unique, challenging experiences.

H Dodd et al. Child’s play: examining the association between time spent playing and child mental health. Child Psychiatry & Human Development. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-022-01363-2