UK author, scholar, advocate, and consultant on childhood, Tim Gill summarizes his thoughts and observations on how COVID-19 affects children, and the role of children in the spread of the disease in a post published today (May 14th, 2020) on his website Rethinking Childhood. Based on the best available evidence, he makes the following observations: Children...
This piece was a collaborative effort by UK professors from Sussex, Cambridge and Reading Universities, intended for general distribution. As experts in children’s mental health and development, we urge that children’s social and emotional wellbeing be prioritised in all decisions relating to the easing of lockdown and re-opening of schools. We recognise the vital importance of...
On May 7th, 2020, Dr. Mariana Brussoni, on behalf of Outdoor Play Canada, presented on Play & Resiliency During COVID-19 as part of the World Urban Parks webinar. Check out her slides here: Play and Resiliency During COVID-19 Slide Deck and the full webinar here: https://vimeo.com/416066640 ...
In a recent piece published in The Conversation, Christine Alden, doctoral candidate at The University of Toronto, and Program Director for early child development and Outdoor Play Strategy with The Lawson Foundation, outlines the impact of COVID-19 related restrictions on children's access to outdoor play. She highlights that access to outdoor play is varied, especially in...
In Andre Picard's latest opinion piece in the Globe and Mail, the health columnist suggests a new mantra be adopted as reopening measures are put in place across Canada: 'Go outside, but do not congregate'. He suggests that part of easing restrictions on outdoor activity should include creating more space, i.e. closing streets to allow for...
On May 4, 2020, journalist Geoff Mcmaster published an article entitled: 'Why COVID-19 loneliness can be especially hard on teens' for the University of Alberta Folio journal. In the article Mcmaster highlights the observation that social isolation due to COVID-19 restrictions may be significantly impacting the health of teens, adding to a disturbing trend Mcmaster calls...
On May 2, 2020, health and science writer Wendy Glauser wrote an article for Maclean's Magazine, entitled: 'It's time to stop giving the message that kids can't play outside'. In the article, Glauser identifies the way in which public health guidelines during the first few months of the pandemic have ignored children's outdoor play by, for...
In her daily news briefing on April 29, 2020, Dr. Bonnie Henry, British Columbia's provincial health officer, re-iterated what she has been saying throughout the COVID-19 outbreak: enjoy BC's outdoor spaces, safely, and with immediate family members. Dr. Henry highlighted the observation that transmission of the virus by briefly passing by someone who sneezes or coughs...
Thank you to Dr. Hugues Sampasa-Kanyinga (MD, PhD Candidate, Epidemiology and Public Health, University of Ottawa) for providing this post. The Canadian 24-Hour Movement Guidelines for Children and Youth (aged 5–17 years) recommend at least 60 minutes of daily moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, no more than 2 hours of daily recreational screen time, and 9-11 hours of...
Many have struggled to access the outdoors, parks, and nature as a result of physical distancing regulations instituted across the country in reaction to the COVID-19 outbreak. Though most Provincial and National parks have reopened, and reopened again in the third wave, services are limited. At the municipal level, restrictions are being lifted on parks...
