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Green living, playful parenting and the pursuit of happiness

Depressing Facts about the State of Play

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skeptical


42% of children have never made a daisy chain
32% have never climbed a tree
25% have never rolled down a hill
A third of children have never played hopscotch
One in ten have never ridden a bike

72% of adults played outside rather than indoors,
compared to 40% of children today.

-from new research from Savlon and Play England

August 3rd, 2011 is Playday, the national day for play, a celebration of kids’ right to play and a campaign that spreads awareness of the power of play in kids’ lives.

In the UK, that is. It’s not happening here in the US of A.

Apparently, in the UK they’re not being facetious when they talk about kids’ right to play:

Children’s right to play

In 1991, the UK government ratified the United Nations convention on the rights of the child. The Playday campaign is committed to achieving the full implementation of this right, to ensure all children in the UK can play.

Article 31 of the convention states that:

  • Parties recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
  • Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural artistic, recreational and leisure activity.

Similarly, last year in Berlin, a law was passed which stated that it was “fundamentally and socially tolerable” for kids to be noisy.

Axel Strohbusch, from Berlin’s Department of Noise Protection, said it was “the first time we have it written in law that we have to consider the rights of children to shout and make noise while they are growing up.”

I ask you:

How depressing is it that laws need to exist to protect kids’ right to be kids?

Is it more or less depressing that kids don’t have those legal rights to childhood here?

I’m curious to know how our stats stack up against the UK… do me a favor and vote in the poll. (Poll embedded below. Subscribers may have to click through, sorry!)

 

In Defense of Childhood: A Prescription for Play

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climbing trees

The opposite of play is not work.
It’s depression.

Brian Sutton-Smith, The Ambiguity of Play

It’s on the long side, but you should totally check out this video, created by the Alliance for Childhood and KaBOOM!.

It features Dr. Ken Ginsburg, local pediatrician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia & author of Building Resilience in Children and Teens: Giving Kids Roots and Wings, and Dr. Marilyn Benoit, former president of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Chief Clinical Officer at Devereux Behavioral Health.

The doctors speak to the consequences of less play in children’s lives (in 1997, kids aged 3-12 spent 16% less time playing than kids did in 1981):

  • social isolation
  • narrow concept of success
  • afraid to think outside the box
  • fear of failure
  • stress, anxiety, and depression.

They also champion the benefits of play and really do a good job explaining how play is crucial for raising children who are resilient, creative, and kind.

My favorite bit is the discussion surrounding the need to redefine what success means:

“Success is being happy. Being kind. Being compassionate. Being generous. Being creative. And being innovative.”

What’s the best way to raise children for this sort of success?

Good questions. Good stuff. Watch it. Live it. Your kids will thank you.

 

 

KaBOOM! Park-A-Day Summer Challenge

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playground

You are worried about seeing him spend his early years in doing nothing.

What! Is it nothing to be happy?

Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long?
Never in his life will he be so busy again.

-Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile

 

Kids who engage in physical play are healthier and less likely to be overweight.

Kids who engage in physical play are smarter and better able to focus, particularly in math.

Kids who engage in physical play are happier, less stressed, more social, and better able to negotiate.

Want to help advocate for play?

KaBOOM! is looking for parents committed to getting their kids outside and playing this summer to participate in the Park-A-Day Summer Challenge.

As part of the challenge, you will be asked to:

  • Take your children to as many local parks, playgrounds, or other public playspaces this summer as you can. (No, you do not need to visit a park every day. But if it works for your schedule, you can try!)
  • Add and/or review each playspace on the KaBOOM! Map of Play.
  • Swap stories and advice with other Summer Challengers in the Park-A-Day Summer Challenge Discussion Group.

By participating, not only does your family reap the (plentiful, varied, and important) benefits of outdoor active time, but you help spread the word about the power of play. By adding playgrounds and playspaces to the database, you help other parents find hidden gems in their community or while traveling. And by rating the amenities and condition of each space, you help highlight where attention is needed to keep playspaces safe and fun.

Today is the first official day of summer vacation for my family, and I can’t wait to GET OUT & PLAY!!

Join us in signing up for the Park-A-Day Summer Challenge.
C’mon, YOU KNOW YOU WANNA.

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kaboomKaBOOM! is a national non-profit dedicated to saving play for America’s children. Their mission is to create great playspaces through the participation and leadership of communities. Ultimately, they envision a place to play within walking distance of every child in America.

To date, KaBOOM! has built over 1,900 playgrounds, saving play for over 3.5 million children.

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