The number and quality of parks and playgrounds in the neighborhood has a large influence on how much time children spend in front of the television or computer, finds a new study published in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine.
Researchers at Deakin University in Australia surveyed the parents of 171 nine-year-old children in 2004, asking them about the physical and social environment of their neighborhood, as well as how much time their children spent watching television, using the computer and playing video games. At the same time, the researchers carried out their own audit of local public spaces and the children’s activity levels outside of school.
They found that the more satisfied parents were with the quality of neighborhood parks and playgrounds, the less time children spent on the computer or playing video games, and even after two years, these children watched less television in 2006.
Through their own analysis of the neighborhood, researchers found that those children who lived in a cul-de-sac or near a large park with a water feature spent less time watching television, while those who lived near a walking path ended up spending more time on the computer or playing video games.
"This highlights the complexity of designing communities to meet the needs of residents across the life-course," conclude the authors.