Effects of deprivation on exercise play in nursery school children

The incidence of exercise play outdoors was observed in nursery school children aged three to four years, after a short or long period of confinement indoors. For both boys and girls there was a greater incidence of exercise play after the long period of confinement, the levels of exercise play decreasing with time. No sex differences were obtained. The results are considered in relation to theories of the functional significance of exercise play.