Mr Hüttenmoser, what makes a house child-friendly?

Mr Hüttenmoser, you advocate child-friendly living environments. What do you mean by that?

To put it provocatively: if you live in a villa in the park, but the children can't go out without their mum or dad going with them, then the beautiful living environment isn't much use to the children.

How do you define child-friendly living?

Of course, the size of the home is important, as is the number of rooms and the freedom that parents give their children indoors. But much more important is the amount of outdoor space that the children can use. The more children can play outside with other children unsupervised by adults, the better they develop - motorically, socially and linguistically. Even ophthalmologists emphasise the importance of outdoor time.

Why is that?

They have found that the less time children spend outdoors, the more likely they are to develop myopia. Possibly because they are more likely to focus on nearby things indoors.

«Unsupervised, children learn to resolve conflicts themselves.»

Marco Hüttenmoser

So children need space to play outdoors. That speaks in favour of having your own garden.

The private garden is not an ideal playground. It is usually too small for gross motor games. And it's not suitable for bikes and scooters either. What's more, there are no other children around unless you invite them. Even then, the children are still under the supervision of adults who will intervene immediately in the event of a dispute.

Shouldn't they do that?

Unsupervised, children learn to resolve conflicts themselves. This is an important effect of free play for children. In a study, we found that the nursery school teacher rated children who spend a lot of time outdoors with other children as more socially competent.

What factors determine whether children can play outdoors unsupervised?

The decisive factor is whether the children can get out and back in on their own. If younger children cannot get back in at any time, their parents will not let them out unaccompanied. The main reason why children are not allowed outside is road traffic. What is also often forgotten are closed front doors.

They can be unlocked!

Many residential buildings have heavy doors with a snap lock. If the children can open them at all, they are locked out afterwards. Even for a nine-year-old, it can still be too difficult to turn the key and pull the knob at the same time. If mum or dad have to go with them every time, the children spend significantly less time outdoors. What's more, they are then under supervision again.

Do parents know what their children need?

Many people are naive in this respect. When they look for a family flat or a house, the main thing they consider is how far away the kindergarten or school is. In Muri, where I live, several families have moved into new terraced houses in the neighbourhood. On the other side of the road is a large housing estate with lots of children, but the children from the terraced houses can hardly get across the busy road.

Who is responsible for taking action?

In my opinion, it is the task of the municipalities to inform young couples how important the living environment and the accessibility of suitable places to play are and what role the doors play in this. Most parents are not aware of these connections.

Everyone is talking about high-density construction. Large housing estates are being built in many places. How child-friendly are they?

They are child-friendly if a lot of children live there. Then again, it depends on whether the children can get out themselves. The doors are often a problem, and if families live further up than the fourth or fifth floor, this also becomes an obstacle. From the third floor upwards, the amount of time children spend outdoors decreases significantly. Therefore: Children belong on the floor!

«When they see other children playing outside, they want to go out too.»

Marco Hüttenmoser

Do the children even want to go out? Don't they prefer to play on the PC?

When they see other children playing outside, they want to go out too. Studies have shown that it is not media consumption that prevents children from going outside - on the contrary: the screen has to stand in as a substitute when there are no suitable places outside to spend time with other children.

Does child-friendly also mean family-friendly?

If the children can play outside independently, this is a huge relief for the parents. In addition, the adults have significantly more neighbourhood contacts when the children are outdoors a lot. Children create a lively neighbourhood. They also have an integrative effect. In addition, many remedial courses and therapies could be spared if the children had enough independent and active outdoor activities with other children.

About the interviewee

Marco Hüttenmoser is a pedagogue and coordinator of the Child and Traffic Network. For over 40 years, he has been researching the connections between children's development and their environment, particularly their living environment and road traffic. He lives with his wife in a hundred-year-old house in Muri AG.

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