If in doubt, let them out — children have the right to play

December 16, 2019

New research from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Measures Survey reaffirmed the dramatic decline in Canadian children’s fitness seen over the past 35 years — with only one-third of Canadian school-aged children meeting physical activity guidelines.

Peter Wall Institute Associate Mariana Brussoni (School of Population and Public Health) and Mark S. Tremblay (Medicine, University of Ottawa) co-wrote this piece for the Conversation in which they explain why Canadian children need to get outside to play more, to help them move more — and why it is their right.

Last year, Brussoni co-organized a Peter Wall Institute International Research Roundtable on strategies to promote outdoor play in schools.