Access to Quality Playspaces Important to Healthy Childhood Development

WASHINGTON, July 12  According to a national Harris Interactive Poll commissioned by KaBOOM! and The Home Depot, 75 percent of pediatricians report there has been a decline in unstructured play among their patients in the past five years, with 50% citing a lack of quality play spaces within walking distance of their homes.

KaBOOM!, a national non-profit and leading advocate for children's play, commissioned this study in order to understand how pediatricians feel about the importance of play in a child's life.  The survey was conducted in May 2005 by Harris Poll Online and the sample was drawn from the Harris Physician Specialty Panel.  A total of 355 pediatricians participated in this study. This sample provides an error rate of +/-5.23 percent at the 95 percent confidence level.

Three-fourths (75 percent) of pediatricians surveyed report that the amount of time their young patients spend on unstructured play has decreased in the past 5 years.  According to the pediatricians, factors contributing to the decline in unstructured play include:

Almost all (97 percent) of the pediatricians surveyed cited children spending significant time in front of a computer or television.

Other reasons for this decline include the availability of organized sports or activities (75 percent), that parents are not aware of the  benefits of unstructured play (57 percent), lack of quality play spaces  within walking distance to home (50 percent), and reduction in school-
based recess time (44 percent).

The majority of the pediatricians believe that unstructured play helps build children's social skills and confidence (96 percent), helps kids from becoming overweight (89 percent), and helps kids improve problem-solving skills (82 percent). The majority of the pediatricians (88 percent) believe that the availability of quality play spaces for unstructured play is important to children's overall development.  When asked what can be done to combat childhood obesity, almost all pediatricians surveyed believe that unstructured play has an important role in reducing childhood obesity.

The pediatrician survey was conducted as a part of KaBOOM! and The Home Depot's 1000 Playgrounds in 1000 Days program.  As a part of this program, KaBOOM! is making available a limited amount of free do-it-yourself toolkits. To be eligible for the free toolkits individuals and organizations need to sign up online by July 29th, 2005. For more information on this offer or the survey go to http://www.kaboom.org.

KaBOOM! is a national nonprofit organization that envisions a great place to play within walking distance of every child in America. Since 1995, KaBOOM! has used its innovative community-build model to bring together business and community interests to construct more than 800 new playgrounds and skateparks, and renovate 1,300 others nationwide. KaBOOM! also offers a variety of resources, including trainings, challenge grants, publications and a free Online Project Planner(TM) for communities who wish to plan a new community build playspace on their own. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., KaBOOM! also has offices in Chicago; Atlanta; and Redwood City, CA.

If you have any questions for a Pediatricians, contact one of our New York Pediatricians today.

	Did You Know?
	When Treating a Cold extra fluids are recommended Since it is caused by a virus, antibiotics do not work against the common cold. Extra fluids, a cool mist humidifier, and rest will likely help with some of his symptoms. Younger children, since they can't blow their nose, may benefit from using saline nasal drops and a bulb syringe to help keep their nasal passages clear.