Less than a third of children have climbed a tree in the last year, study finds

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With kids increasingly distracted by video games, smartphones and tablets, new research claims that under 30% of children have climbed a tree over the past year and less than a third have built a den.

Full disclosure: the accuracy of the study is in doubt as a) parents were asked whether they had seen their children scale one, so this doesn't account for clandestine climbers b) the sample size was 1,000 parents and c) it was commissioned by Mars Chocolate for a health campaign so is a little self-serving.

Be that as it may, I wouldn't be surprised if the same results were found among a large number of juvenile respondents, given that in many cases riding bikes up and down the road outside your house and getting into mischief, wrapping yourself in bubble wrap and throwing yourself at things and jumping from increasing heights from trees has been replaced by playing iPhone games, playing iPad games and playing console games.

The survey also found that in spite of the baking boom just one in ten children have made a mud pie, and that 90% of parents want their family to spend more time together outdoors.

RIP Swingball