... och benen är fulla med spring! Barns bristande rätt till en god utemiljö i förskolan

Sammanfattning: Today, 86% of children between the age of 1 and 5 are enrolled in preschools in Sweden. The outdoor environment is important to support children’s development, health, and wellbeing. Children’s perception of what an appropriate outdoor environment is often differs from what adults consider to be a god and healthy outdoor environment. The aim of this study is to confirm the gap in supervision regarding time spent outdoors and emphasis the importance of size and design of the outdoor environment. The study also aims to investigate if environmental legislation can be used to remedy unpracticed deficiencies in outdoor environments of preschools. Thus far there is no legislation that controls the size and design of the preschool’s outdoor environments. The only legislation available aims to prevent accidents and already proven inconveniences for children’s wellbeing such as noise and air pollution. There are authorities that have the obligation to produce guidance for how supervision should be carried out. However, this guidance is mostly focused on the indoor environment of preschool activities. Although there are no authorities, according to practice, that have the right to supervise where or even if children spend time outside during their time spent in preschool. In order to overcome the problem, it is important to clarify and establish what an inconvenience to human health is according to legislation. It is also important to listen to the children's own perception of their well-being. This study highlights the importance of environmental legislation to promote children’s outdoor stay.