In a survey commissioned for this year's Playday theme, 'Fit for Play', the Children's Play Council and the Children's Society found that 40 per cent of children aged seven to 14 wanted to spend more time playing outdoors.
Of the 670 children questioned, 96 per cent said that they would play outside more depending on certain conditions - if there were better places to play, more play places, more to do, or if it was safer. Only 2 per cent said they didn't want to play outdoors more.
Adrian Voce, director of the Children's Play Council, said, 'We know that one of the most effective and the most natural form of exercise for children is active play. What children are telling us in this survey should make us all think about how to improve the environments where children live so they can enjoy the healthy childhood that is their right.'
Patricia Durr of the Children's Society said, 'This is a wake-up call to both central and local government that play needs to be a real priority.'
Mr Voce said that more Home Zones needed to be created to control vehicle traffic and make the streets safer for children to play. He said, 'We want to see local authorities developing cross-cutting play strategies, in line with voluntary and statutory agencies, that are built into the Children and Young People's Plan and included in the planning framework.'
He added that 80 per cent of the Big Lottery Fund's 155m earmarked for play in England would be allocated to local authorities that have produced play strategies.
More than 150,000 children celebrated Playday at events across the UK on 3 August. Playday's ten top tips for improving the environment for children's play can be viewed at www.playday.org.uk.
