The aim of this study is to examine the parents' perceptions about outdoor play through metaphors. The study is conducted with 107 parents, 96 mothers and 11 fathers, with children between 0-72 months. The data has been collected via an online questionnaire. Parents completed the prompt "Playing outside is like…Because..." to indicate their conceptualization of outdoor play. In addition, interviews were conducted to obtain more in-depth data about parent's views about outdoor play. Content analysis technique is used in the evaluation of the data obtained in the research and eight conceptual categories were identified. The metaphors developed about outdoor play are, in order of frequency, freedom, healing, need, fun, instruction, happiness, peace, and exploration. As a result, it has been found that parents of preschoolers have positive perceptions towards outdoor play. Also, parents are aware of the benefit of outdoor play for the child, perceive it positively, but limit their children's outdoor play opportunities, or try to structure it especially because of their concerns about security and health. Thus, it will be possible for children to benefit from outdoor play at the maximum level by eliminating the difficulties faced by parents and increasing their awareness about outdoor play.