The Playground Perception of Syrian Refugee Children

Influence of Neighborhood Built Environments on the Outdoor Free Play of Young Children: a Systematic, Mixed-Studies Review and Thematic Synthesis

“…Across contexts, young children were attracted to natural environments; trees, flowers, leaves, sand, sticks, and natural play materials were motivators to OFP [ 34 , 37 , 46 , 48 , 58 , 62 ]. Trees were the most common natural object in playground drawings by Syrian refugee children [ 65 ]. Interaction with nature, even in small, informal areas such as planters [ 63 ] or traffic roundabouts [ 47 ] were highly valued, and children were fascinated by animals: ducks, squirrels, dogs, birds, and insects [ 34 , 58 , 63 , 65 , 82 ].…”

“…Onsite play preferences, play choices and barriers, and enablers for play, parent and child perceptions and use of parks ***** Marino et al [ 55 ] USA Representative sample of children (3–4 years) entering Head Start (fall, 2006) using 4-stage clustered, stratified sampling. n = 2529 Quantitative, cross-sectional: to estimate the amount of time low-income US preschool-age children spend playing outdoors at home and at school; to identify relationships between outdoor play, socio-demographics and weight status; and to assess the extent to which children’s environments at home and school are associated with outdoor play Presence of yard Presence of park or playground within walking distance Picnic, park, playground visit with child in past month Parent-reported typical weekday time spent playing outdoors at home (< 1, 1–2, > 2 h) and at school *** Mart et al [ 65 ] Turkey Syrian refugee children (4–6 years old) living in Turkey in Konya or Kilis city centers or refugee camps. n = 46 Qualitative, arts-based: to understand Syrian refugee children’s perceptions about playgrounds Qualitative arts-based content analysis of children’s drawings of playgrounds ***** McGlone [ 63 ] Australia Children and adult users of a Pop-Up Park in an inner suburb of Melbourne.…”

“…Trees were the most common natural object in playground drawings by Syrian refugee children [ 65 ]. Interaction with nature, even in small, informal areas such as planters [ 63 ] or traffic roundabouts [ 47 ] were highly valued, and children were fascinated by animals: ducks, squirrels, dogs, birds, and insects [ 34 , 58 , 63 , 65 , 82 ]. Though parents and children sometimes had safety concerns about dogs [ 62 , 67 ], presence of dog waste was associated with more OFP among 4–6-year-old girls [ 56 ].…”

“…Destinations with affordances for both dogs and preschoolers supported OFP in an Australian context [ 43 ]. Preschool children were attracted to places that afforded physical challenge, play at heights, and with speed (e.g., trees, slides, swings, climbing structures) [ 46 , 47 , 62 , 63 , 65 , 66 , 87 , 88 ]. More play equipment in home yards was associated with more OFP [ 84 , 89 ], but even with extensive play equipment, yards could be perceived by children as isolating or boring [ 61 ].…”

“…Qualitative evidence consistently emphasized the importance of other children to OFP [ 45 , 51 , 53 , 61 , 65 , 67 , 71 , 90 ]. Preschoolers’ ideas for future playgrounds revolved around increasing opportunities for play with friends [ 90 ].…”