Study: Decline in youth participation outdoors slowing, numbers encouraging By Howard Meyerson, The Grand Rapids Press. Found at Mlive.com
December 19, 2010We hear a lot these days about how young people are not getting outdoors and the various programs set up to encourage more youth to go and play outside. Well, it appears that, to an extent, some of that may be working and that the stranglehold of a poor economy may be easing slightly.
The Outdoor Foundation, a trade organization representing the outdoor industry, released its 2010 annual outdoor participation report this fall. It shows the decline in youth participation outdoors is slowing down. That has implications for the well-being of youth all across the country. Plenty has been written about the obesity crisis, nature deficit disorder and the benefits of physical and/or activity on both the body and young minds.
Outdoor participation dropped only 2 percent among 6- to 12-year-olds in 2009, from 64 percent in 2008 to 62 percent. It dropped 14 percent during the two previous years, down from 78 percent in 2006. The report said older youth participation dropped at a similar rate.
On the other hand, the Foundation study showed a slight increase in overall outdoor participation last year. Nearly 50 percent of Americans ages 6 and older participate in outdoor recreation of some sort — 137.8 million people overall — the report said.
Less than a quarter of those did something outdoors twice a week, but 82 percent said they plan to spend more time outdoors.
Parents can make differenceThe influence of parents, they found, is very significant.
“Most youth are introduced to outdoor activities, by parents, friends, family and relatives. Three quarters of children ages 6 to 12 are influenced in their participation in outdoor activities by their parents,” the report said.
That statement resonated with me. I grew up in Detroit where cement, bricks and commerce dominated the landscape. Most of my young peers participated in typical urban recreation — trips to ballgames, movies, Little League and neighborhood games on the street on summer evenings.
I got to enjoy all that, but unlike so many, I got introduced to other things by my father and my uncles. My father, a former jock who still has an obsessive love for amateur and professional sports, also enjoyed horseback riding, canoeing and beaches.
I have no idea how it came to be, but on weekends, when my father had time to break away from work, we would drive to a stable and rent horses or paddle rental canoes at Belle Isle in downtown Detroit, or drive to the beach on summer days, or feed the ducks at a city park where we used to ice skate in the winter.
My uncles loved the water and sailing, skiing in the winter. To this day, I fondly remember our outings, the lessons they taught me, and the experiences I brought home.
The sum total of those influences formed the foundation of who I am today. As a child and later as a teen, I looked at being outdoors with enthusiasm rather than fear or dismay. Going outside was fun, stimulating, and good for me.
The Foundation study shows that outdoor participants rate their fitness level higher than non-participants. They also rate their health higher.
Of course, I grew up in the 1950s and 60s, long before computer games and virtual reality, long before kids had their choice of 200 channels and a month’s worth of adventure programming at any time.
Ironically, the report shows that while 62 percent of 6-12 year olds participated in outdoor recreation last year, fewer go outside as they get older. Fifty five percent of 18-24 year olds participated, but only 39 percent of those 45 and over participated in outdoor recreation last year.
It’s not a stretch to say the economy has had an impact. Forty-five percent of those who participated came from households with an income of $75,000 or more. And 45 percent of those surveyed said they cut back on non-essentials because of the economy. It’s tough to justify the cost of a new snowboard if you are looking for employment, difficult to take time if you are working two jobs.
Fortunately, there are inexpensive ways that parents can do things outdoors with their kids, even in winter. It costs nothing to get out on the state’s rail trail systems to walk. People can ice skate for free downtown at Rosa Parks Circle. It costs practically nothing to get kids out to local county park hills to sled, or to the frozen Lake Michigan shoreline for a winter adventure hike. For those more motivated, there are hundreds of miles of hikeable winter trails within a one-hour drive of Grand Rapids.
This Christmas, when the kids are home looking for something to do, that is something to keep in mind.
E-mail Howard Meyerson: hmeyerson@grpress.com and follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/HMeyerson
http://www.mlive.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2010/12/study_decline_in_youth_partici.html
