How often do your children play outside? More or less than you did when your were a child? Have safety fears led you to keep your children indoors more? Or have government cuts led to a fewer outdoor play facilities in your area?

Last month Dame Fiona Reynolds, the director general of the National Trust, wrote for the Guardian about the importance of letting children play in wild spaces:

Parents need help to make choices about where and how our children play. Catching tadpoles, flying kites, building dens and climbing trees should be staples of every childhood; things have come to a head when there's a market for plastic nature trail sets.

This week Play England has launched a Love Outdoor Play campaign, which aims to help and encourage parents to take their kids outside to play.

The Play England director, Cath Prisk, says: "There is a staggering amount of evidence that outdoor play is an essential part of children's health and happiness, yet children face more barriers to playing outside than ever before. Crucially, having children playing outside, and actively involving adults in providing great play opportunities for them, make our communities better places to live."

We'd be interested to hear your thoughts on the subject. Are you concerned about how much time your children spend indoors? Do you believe there's been a major shift in how children spend their time, or are concerns overblown? What would allow you to take your children to play outdoors more?

Let us know your thoughts via the form below – we'll publish a selection of responses next week.

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