Youngsters who are allowed to leave the house without an adult are more active and enjoy a richer social life than those who are constantly supervised, according to a study conducted at UCL and reported in a special edition of the journal Built Environment (19th December).
The project helped to inform the Government's new Children's Plan and was led by Professor Roger Mackett of UCL's Department of Civil, Environmental and Geomatic Engineering. His team studied 330 pupils from two schools in Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, all aged between 8 and 11. The children completed questionnaires, kept travel diaries, had their movements logged using GPS monitors and wore portable motion sensors to measure their speed of travel, changes in direction and the number of ‘activity calories' they consumed. (‘Activity calories' are those burnt during activities, rather than those used to maintain core bodily functions.)
Professor Mackett says: “We asked children whether they were allowed out without an adult and then looked at where they go and how they behave. In general, children who aren't constantly supervised tend to leave the house more often – exploring their surroundings, playing with other children and using up more calories than their sedentary, house-bound peers.”