Facilitators and barriers to adventurous play in British preschool-aged children: cross-sectional findings from the British Preschool Children's Play Survey.

INTRODUCTION

Adventurous play (AP), defined as play involving thrill, fear and uncertainty, has health and developmental benefits but can be challenging for parents to support. This study aimed to explore parent-reported facilitators and barriers to AP in preschool-aged children and whether these differ by sociodemographic characteristics.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data were from the British Preschool Children's Play Survey, a nationally representative survey investigating play in British 2-4-year-olds. Parent-reported facilitators and barriers were analysed using a coding framework, with χ2 tests used to determine whether facilitators and barriers differed by sociodemographic characteristics (parent gender; child gender; ethnicity (white vs non-white); urbanicity (urban/suburban/rural); social grade (higher/lower); child age (2, 3 or 4 years); and child's perceived motor skills).

RESULTS

Parents of 1166 children provided valid data. Safety (15.0%) and supervision (10.4%) were the most commonly reported facilitators, with child preferences (χ²=10.74, p=0.0008) and parental attitudes (χ²=5.60, p=0.006) more likely to be reported by white (vs minority ethnic) parents. Barriers were dominated by concerns about physical injury (18.8%) and safety (11.7%), with risk of injury reported by mothers more frequently than fathers (χ²=21.5, p<0.001) and parental attributes reported more frequently than fathers (χ²=17.2, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Ensuring safety and supervision are important facilitators for children's AP. Similar concerns about injury are perceived barriers. Given the benefits of AP for preschool-aged children, efforts to support AP opportunities should be prioritised. As the largest identified factor (both positive and negative) is children's safety, future research efforts should acknowledge this.