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Outdoor Play

“Outdoor play is play that takes place outside and includes concepts of risky play and nature play. Outdoor play takes place in a very broad continuum of spaces that include urban, rural, suburban, and wilderness settings” 1. “Risky Play is thrilling and exciting forms of play that involve uncertainty and a risk of physical injury.Risky play provides opportunities for challenge, testing limits, exploringboundaries and learning about injury risk” 1.

Development Skills

Independence

Motor Skills

Exploration

Benefits

Benefits of Outdoor Play for All Children

  • Opportunities for taking part in outdoor, free play activities has dropped dramatically for children over the past decades. 2 However, it is important for children to have the time and opportunities for such play from an early age, especially given the rapid developmental changes that occur at young ages. 3
  • Several systematic reviews on the benefits of playing outdoors and in nature for children’s health showed positive relationships for children’s physical activity levels, reported stress levels and overall well-being. 4
  • Outdoor play provides children with opportunities to move freely, explore different environments, and practice physical activities that can help strengthen their motor skills while fostering independence.3
  • Outdoor play is important in early childhood because it has been found to help children manage emotions and thinking skills, with one study reporting this was evident when timed with children’s natural daily rhythm.5
  • Outdoor free play increases children’s physical activity and also helps them build important skills such as creativity, social and spatial skills and can help them connect more to the environment. 2
  • In 2024, the Canadian Paediatric Society published a position statement to support the role of outdoor risky play to support healthy child development, highlighting the benefits for children’s physical, mental, and social-emotional health. This position statement summarized research on the many benefits of risky play and also highlighted the need to balance risky play with the child’s developmental level as well as with the possibilities of the child being injured. •The link to the position statement can be found here: https://cps.ca/en/documents/position/outdoor-risky-play
  • A systematic review of research reported that opportunities for risky outdoor play had overall positive effects on children’s health including greater amounts of physical activity, social aspects and less sedentary behaviors.6  This same review reported indications that being in environments that supported risky play helped build children’s resilience, social connections, and increased overall playtime 6.

Specific Benefits of Outdoor Play for Children with Autism

  • There is little research on how outdoor play benefit children with ASD, however, in a small-scale study from Australia, parents reported that play in nature had a calming effect for their autistic children, supported their imaginative play and helped them to adapt to change 7.  
  • Another small study from Ireland reported how autistic children were found to enjoy active play such running, climbing and swinging and play with natural components. They also favored risky play involving some challenges, imaginative play, and social play with peers 8.  
  • In a summary of many studies that focused on outdoor play decisions by caregivers of children with disabilities, children were found to want to engage when activities were fun and interesting and unstructured play was reported as motivating for some 9.

Risks

Risks of Outdoor Play for Children

  • An Irish study of children’s admissions to emergency departments and urgent care care centres over a two-year period, found that outdoor related injuries for children were not frequent and most were less severe types with few requiring admissions to hospital., with limb injuries being the most common.10
  • The main play activities involved in the emergency department visits involved bicycles, scooters, and play on trampolines  when accidents occurred during outdoor play.10
  • The authors concluded that children engaging in play that goes beyond their age or developmental level may be at greater risk of injury during outdoor play activities. Playing at fast speeds or at heights also increased the chance of falls and injuries among children during outdoor play.10

Specific Risks of Outdoor Play for Children with Autism

  • During unstructured outdoor play, children with ASD may struggle to interact appropriately with peers, such as starting or responding to social interactions. 11
  • Outdoor recess at school often has less direct supervision, which can make it harder for children with ASD to successfully engage in play and may increase the risk of social isolation.11
  • Children with ASD may find some aspects of natural environments overwhelming, and these sensory challenges can present a barrier to outdoor play.11
  • A study on how parents think about risks to their child with a developmental disability during play, it was found that parents were particularly concerned about play near open outdoor areas, at heights, near water or roadways. Parents were also worried about unfenced areas where children could run away as well as concerns about their child being bullied during play. 11

Strategies for Safe Outdoor Play

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Specific Strategies for Outdoor Play for Children with Autism
  • Provide opportunities for challenges and risk. Outdoor play should include elements that allow children to test their abilities, take manageable risks, and experience mastery, which keeps them engaged and supports their development.8‍
  • Parents can consider how manageable risks can benefit their children to support their autonomy, avoid limiting opportunities while also balancing any serious dangers or hazards that may be present. 15‍
  • Designs for inclusive and accessible play spaces should be considered for public parks and natural areas. Features in play areas should support creative and open-ended play that can include a range of play behaviors rather than narrow, specific behaviours.16‍

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Specific Strategies for Outdoor Play for Children with Autism
  • Playgrounds and schoolyards should have varied equipment (swings, slides, climbing walls), natural features, and spacious layouts to support active, sensory-rich, and imaginative play.8‍
  • Design playgrounds and outdoor areas that accommodate the needs of autistic children and allow them to participate alongside peers.17

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Additional Resources

CanucksAutism Network: Inclusive sport and recreation programs

 
‍Autism Speaks: Safety and outdoor play tips https://www.autismspeaks.org

BCParks Accessibility Info: Accessible outdoor spaces in British Columbia https://bcparks.ca

ParachuteCanada: Outdoor play safety guides
https://www.parachutecanada.org

https://parachute.ca/en/injury-topic/playgrounds-and-play-spaces/

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Parachute: Unstructured outdoor play and risky play available at: https://parachute.ca/en/injury-topic/playgrounds-and-play-spaces/unstructured-outdoor-play-and-risky-play/GoPlay Outside available at: https://www.outsideplay.org/#tool-kitThis resource includes toolkits for parents, educators and teachers that provide ideas and resources to support play for children in the outdoors

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https://www.outsideplay.org/#tool-kit

References

1. Outdoor Play Canada. (2019). Outdoor play Canada report (Draft 5.1)

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2. Loebach,J., Sanches, M., Jaffe, J., & Elton-Marshall, T. (2021). Paving the way for outdoor play: Examining socio-environmental barriers to community-based outdoor play. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(7),3617. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18073617

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3. McCrorie,P., Johnstone, A., Nicholls, N., Keime, M., Jidovtseff, B., & Martin, A.(2025). Risky outdoor play in the early years: How are parental andpractitioner perceptions of danger and benefits associated with youngchildren's outdoor play experiences? International Journal of Play, 14(2),120-138. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2025.2508649

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4. Beaulieu,E., & Beno, S. (2024). Healthy childhood development through outdoor riskyplay: Navigating the balance with injury prevention. Paediatrics & Child Health, 29(4), 255–261. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxae016

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5. Lee,J., Flouri, E., & Jackson, Y. (2025). The role of timing and amount ofoutdoor play in emotional dysregulation in preschool children. Child: Care, Health & Development, 51(1), e70020-n/a. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.70020

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6. Brussoni,M., Gibbons, R., Gray, C., Ishikawa, T., Sandseter, E., Bienenstock, A.,Chabot, G., Fuselli, P., Herrington, S., Janssen, I., Pickett, W., Power, M.,Stanger, N., Sampson, M., & Tremblay, M. (2015). What is the relationship between risky outdoor play and health in children? A systematic review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6423-6454. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120606423

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7. Galbraith,C., & Lancaster, J. (2020). Children with autism in wild nature: Exploring australian parent perceptions using photovoice. Journal of Outdoor and Environmental Education, 23(3), 293-307. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42322-020-00064-5

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8. Fahy,S., Delicâte, N., & Lynch, H. (2021). Now, being, occupational: Outdoor play and children with autism. Journal of Occupational Science, 28(1), 114-132.https://doi.org/10.1080/14427591.2020.1816207

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9. Sterman,J., Naughton, G., Froude, E., Villeneuve, M., Beetham, K., Wyver, S., &Bundy, A. (2016). Outdoor play decisions by caregivers of children withdisabilities: A systematic review of qualitative studies. Journal ofDevelopmental and Physical Disabilities, 28(6), 931–957. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10882-016-9517-x

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10. Armstrong,F., & Gaul, D. (2025). Children's outdoor play injuries: How real areparental concerns of danger in outdoor play? International Journal of Play,14(2), 152-165. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2025.2508651

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11. Morrier,M. J., & Ziegler, S. M. T. (2018). I wanna play too: Factors related tochanges in social behavior for children with and without autism spectrumdisorder after implementation of a structured outdoor play curriculum. Journalof Autism and Developmental Disorders, 48(7), 2530-2541. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3523-z

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12. Tremblay,M., Gray, C., Babcock, S., Barnes, J., Bradstreet, C., Carr, D., Chabot, G.,Choquette, L., Chorney, D., Collyer, C., Herrington, S., Janson, K., Janssen,I., Larouche, R., Pickett, W., Power, M., Sandseter, E., Simon, B., &Brussoni, M. (2015). Position statement on active outdoor play. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 12(6), 6475-6505. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph120606475

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13. Carsley,S., Perrin, E. M., Birken, C. S., Maguire, J. L., Lau, E., Laupacis, A.,Parkin, P. C., Salter, M., Szatmari, P., Weir, S., Abdullah, K., Aglipay, M.,Ali, Y., Bayoumi, I., Chen, S., Chen, Y., Dai, D. W. H., Darmawikarta, D.,Dennis, C., . . . TARGet Kids! Collaboration. (2018). Temperament is associatedwith outdoor free play in young children: A TARGet kids! study. AcademicPediatrics, 18(4), 445-451. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.acap.2017.08.006

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14. Morgenthaler,T., Schulze, C., Pentland, D., & Lynch, H. (2023). Environmental qualities that enhance outdoor play in community playgrounds from the perspective of children with and without disabilities: A scoping review. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20(3), 1763. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20031763

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15. Beetham,K. S., Sterman, J., Bundy, A. C., Wyver, S., Ragen, J., Engelen, L., …Naughton, G. (2019). Lower parent tolerance of risk in play for children withdisability than typically developing children. International Journal of Play,8(2), 174–185. https://doi.org/10.1080/21594937.2019.1643980

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16. Li,D., Larsen, L., Yang, Y., Wang, L., Zhai, Y., & Sullivan, W. C. (2019).Exposure to nature for children with autism spectrum disorder: Benefits,caveats, and barriers. Health & Place, 55, 71–79. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.healthplace.2018.11.005

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17. Coughlan,M., & Lynch, H. (2024). “Can I play too?” A qualitative study of outdoor play and participation among autistic preschoolers. The American Journal of Occupational Therapy, 78(4)https://doi.org/10.5014/ajot.2024.050732

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