The Association of
Play Industries (API) is taking part in a new report into mental health through
movement organised by the All-Party
Parliamentary Group on a Fit and Healthy Childhood.
‘Positive Mental
Health Through Movement’, the 14th report issued by the parliamentary working
group of which the API is a member, will be published later this year and
feature contributions from leading experts in the field.
“There is mounting
evidence of the connection between movement and mental health,” said API Chair
Mark Hardy. “Today’s children are the more inactive than ever before, spending
the bulk of their leisure time indoors, sedentary and on screens. At the same
time, more and more children are experiencing mental health issues.
“We are delighted to
be a contributor to this report and to this most important of debates. There is
growing recognition that movement plays a vital role in children’s positive
mental health and that activity and mental health are inextricably linked.
“The report will
collate current thinking and evidence on the topic and, most importantly, it
will provide practical recommendations for policy makers, families and
practitioners on how to utilise the connection between movement and mental
health.”
Elements of API’s
recent research – Nowhere To Play
and a Movementfor Movement – will be submitted to the report for inclusion, as well as
new API research recently commissioned into children’s behaviours around
outdoor play and how they use their free time.
“All our evidence
points to the fact that today’s children are increasingly experiencing a strong
inducement from screens to stay indoors and be inactive,” said Mark. “At the
same time, cuts in public funding mean that there is an alarming and ongoing decline
in public playgrounds. More and more children are finding that they have
nowhere to play outdoors and that those in disadvantaged areas are
disproportionately affected.
“Our hope is that
this report will act as a catalyst for policy makers to make the changes needed
to foster movement in young people, enabling children to live happy, active and
fulfilled lives and remain healthy well into adulthood.”
