Most U.S. kids have no playground access

WASHINGTON, June 22 (UPI) -- Sixty-nine percent of U.S. children in the lowest income bracket don't have access to a community playground, a survey indicates.

KaBOOM!, a national non-profit dedicated to bringing play back into the lives of children, commissioned the survey conducted by Harris Interactive of 1,677 parents with children between the ages of 2-12. The group says U.S. children experience a national play deficit because they don't have enough time and space to play every day.

The survey found 59 percent of parents report their children don't have access to a community playground.

In terms of importance, 96 percent of parents said playing outside was critical to keep kids physically fit, but just 17 percent thought children played enough outside.

In the survey, the parents reported their kids spend less than an hour per day engaged in unstructured play outdoors, on average, and 92 percent of parents said children today spend less time playing outside than they did when they were children.

The survey was conducted online between March 31 and April 7 among 1,677 respondents who were selected from among parents with children between the ages of 2-12 who have agreed to participate in Harris Interactive surveys. No margin of error was given.