Play video
A global study released today reports that children’s playtime is in dramatic decline, with the majority of children now spending as little time outdoors as a prison inmate.
Sir Ken Robinson reports that our children’s future success hangs in the balance
ï‚· One in ten children have no time playing outside on an average day
ï‚· Half of all parents want their child to have a better balance of indoor/ outdoor play
[LONDON, 22 MARCH] A global study released today reports that children’s playtime is in dramatic decline, with the majority of children now spending as little time outdoors as a prison inmate1. On average, children spend an hour or less outside per day, with one in ten never playing outdoors.
The report ‘Play in Balance’ by OMO/Persil, as part of the Dirt is Good campaign, polled 12,000 parents worldwide, and found that two-thirds (64 per cent) believe that their children do not have the same opportunities to play as they did as a child.
Sir Ken Robinson, leading expert in education, creativity and human development, and Chair of the Dirt is Good Child Development Advisory Board, comments:
“Academic research shows that active play is the natural and primary way that children learn. It is essential to their healthy growth and progress, particularly during periods of rapid brain development. Yet, too often play is disregarded as frivolous and pointless. Consequently, there’s a growing, and alarming, tendency to reduce time for active play in children’s lives - both at school and home.”
Due to pressures of modern life, half of all parents report they have little to no time available to supervise outdoor play or to play with their child. Four in ten parents also report that they lack appropriate places for their children to play safely within their community.
While experts agree that there are multiple and wide-ranging benefits associated with children’s use of technology, ‘screen time’ is perceived to be a key barrier to getting kids outdoors. Nearly eight out of ten parents (78 per cent) admit that their children often refuse to play without some form of technology being involved. A similar number (80 per cent) report that their child prefers to play virtual sports on a screen inside rather than playing ‘real’ sports outside.
Sir Ken continues:
“There is a worrying play imbalance emerging. Screens can be a wonderful source of education and entertainment but children need to play in a wide variety of ways to exercise fully their minds and bodies and to learn from and about the world around them. Alongside widespread underfunding of many city parks and other play places, especially in urban environments, this generation is facing a perfect storm of inactivity.
“Play helps children to learn and experiment, to focus and concentrate, be more self-directed, and to build social confidence. Play also helps children to learn important social values, such as sharing, following rules, taking turns, valuing the choices of others, accepting losing, perseverance, tolerance, open mindedness and empathy.
“Allow children to play safely but freely outside with little structure and you’ll be amazed by their enterprise and their ability to imagine and create. We have to give active play its proper place in our children’s lives, to enrich their development now and to help them grow into successful, well-rounded and happy adults.”
Further drawing attention to the outdoor play deficit, OMO/Persil has created Free the Kids, a thought-provoking film that starkly illustrates the current imbalance in play. Filmed in a maximum security prison in Wabash, Indiana, Director Toby Dye spoke to prison inmates about what their outdoors time meant to them.
James Hayhurst, Global Equity Director OMO/Persil explains:
“We were shocked when we discovered that children today were enjoying as little time outside as prisoners. That is why OMO/Persil decided to make Free the Kids, to bring this issue to life, and to start a global conversation about the importance of play for children's learning and development. It has also prompted us to think about ways we can help families rediscover outdoor play, both at home and through schools.”
To redress the play imbalance, OMO/Persil suggests that parents take three simple steps:
ï‚· Get out today and play with your child - go to www.dirtisgood.com for ideas on getting out and getting dirty
ï‚· Join the conversation – OMO has the views of experts and partners but needs to hear the voice of parents. What are the obstacles to outdoor play? How are parents feeling about their child’s opportunities to play? OMO will then respond with more ways to support families
ï‚· Visit www.dirtisgood.com and sign up your child’s school for Outdoor Classroom Day. OMO is a proud partner of the global initiative aiming to get children around the world learning outside of the classroom
To find out more and to view the Free the Kids film, visit www.dirtisgood.com.
ENDS
NOTES TO EDITORS:
ABOUT THE RESEARCH
Research was conducted by Edelman Berland, an independent market research firm. Fieldwork was conducted in February and March 2016. 12,170 parents of 5-12 year olds responded. 10 countries participated in the study: including Brazil, UK, Turkey, Portugal, South Africa, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and India. NB: 1,000 interviews in all markets except UK + US where we conducted 2,000 per market.
ABOUT DIRT IS GOOD
Dirt is Good (DiG) is the campaign supported by Unilever’s leading detergent brand including OMO, Persil, Skip and Via, sold in over 78 markets. Taken together, the Dirt is Good brands are the fourth-most consumed brands in the world. The Dirt is Good brands have a unique philosophy in the laundry category. We believe that Dirt is Good: that children need plenty of exploratory, hands-on play – the kind where they can go out and get dirty– because it is essential for their learning and healthy development. In partnership with parents, educators, and other leading child development experts, we are committed to investigating the best ways to help children play, explore and get dirty every day so that they can learn and develop to their full potential.
The Dirt is Good Advisory Board is a group of experts and expert organizations advising the Dirt is Good programme. The Board includes Sir Ken Robinson, Dr Stuart Brown and representatives from Project Dirt
ABOUT UNILEVER
Unilever is one of the world’s leading suppliers of Food, Home and Personal Care products with sales in over 190 countries and reaching 2 billion consumers a day. It has 169,000 employees and generated sales of €53.3 billion in 2015. Over half (58%) of the company’s footprint is in developing and emerging markets. Unilever has more than 400 brands found in homes around the world, including Persil, Dove, Knorr, Domestos, Hellmann’s, Lipton, Wall’s, PG Tips, Ben & Jerry’s, Marmite, Magnum and Lynx.
Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan (USLP) commits to:
• Decoupling growth from environmental impact.
• Helping more than a billion people take action to improve their health and well-being.
• Enhancing the livelihoods of millions of people by 2020.
Unilever was ranked number one in its sector in the 2015 Dow Jones Sustainability Index. In the FTSE4Good Index, it achieved the highest environmental score of 5. It led the list of Global Corporate Sustainability Leaders in the 2015 GlobeScan/SustainAbility annual survey for the fifth year running, and in 2015 was ranked the most sustainable food and beverage company in Oxfam’s Behind the Brands Scorecard.
Unilever has been named in LinkedIn’s Top 3 most sought-after employers across all sectors.
For more information about Unilever and its brands, please visit www.unilever.com. For more information on the USLP: www.unilever.com/sustainable-living/
SCRIPT & SHOTLIST
00:00-00:05 Sunrise over Wabash Prison
00:06-00:08 Visual super: FREE THE KIDS
00:08-00:09 Visual super: WABASH MAXIMUM SECURITY PRISON, INDIANA – U.S.A.
00:09-00:28 Montage of images of prisoners and prison guard
Prisoner VO: I didn’t know what freedom was, until it was taken from me. It’s devastating. I’ve had who I am inside stripped away. You can never escape the walls. You can never escape your mind.
00:28-00:41 Visuals of prison doors opening and prisoners being released into their outside area.
Prisoner VO continues: Then imagine they open your door. You have time to walk out that door and feel the sun on your face. It’s everything to me.
00:42-00:47 Visuals of prisoners enjoying their outdoor time
Prisoner VO: My daily outdoors time – I think it’s probably the most important part of my day.
00:48-00:51 Visuals of prisoners enjoying their outdoor time
Prisoner VO: Take all your frustrations and all your problems and just leave them out there.
00:52-00:54 Prisoner lifting weights outside
Prisoner VO: Keeps my mind right, keeps my body strong.
00:55-00:58 Visual of outdoor area
Visual super: INMATES HAVE AT LEAST TWO HOURS OF OUTDOOR TIME EACH DAY
00:59-01:02 Visual of prisoners playing basket ball
Prisoner VO: It’s pretty much the highlight of my day.
01:03-01:04 Visual of a sign that reads ‘Warning shot area’
01:05-01:12 Cut to shots of different prisoners in a room being asked the following question:
Interviewer VO: So, how would you feel if your yard time was reduced to just one hour a day?
01:13- 01:18 Close-up of prisoner answering that question
Prisoner VO: Yeah… what, am I supposed to tell you how I feel about that?
01:19- 01:20 Close-up of another prisoner answering the same question
Prisoner VO: I’d feel pretty sad about it.
01:21- 01:24 Close-up of another prisoner answering the same question
Prisoner VO: I think it’s going to build more anger, more, it’s not going to be a good thing.
01:25- 01:26 Close-up of another prisoner answering the same question
Prisoner VO: it would be torture.
01:27- 01:35 Close-up prisoner barred-door sliding shut and then a shot of Prison Guard speaking
Prison Guard VO: I think cutting the offenders’ outside time to an hour a day is potentially disastrous.
01:36-01:40 Visuals of prison security
01:41-01:47 Cut back to prisoners being interviewed
Interviewer VO: Well, do you know who does have only one hour outdoors per day?
…Children.
01:47- 01:50 Close-up of a prisoner responding to that statement
Prisoner VO: Wow.
01:51- 01:52 Close-up of another prisoner responding to the same statement
Prisoner VO: That’s depressing.
01:53- 01:54 Close-up of another prisoner responding to the same statement
Prisoner VO: I don’t even know what to say to that.
22 March 2016
