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Council鈥檚 social history project underlines the importance of play
Published: 29/04/2015
The findings of the Council鈥檚 in depth social history project - 天涯社区 Play
Memories 1910 鈥� 2014 鈥� have been published, and underline how important play
is and always has been for childhood development. The findings also show that
children鈥檚 play, as a unique set of behaviours, has actually changed very
little in the last century, but that there is a perceived trend in the
reduction of spaces available to children to play.
The project ran from January 2011 until July 2014 and was conducted by the
Councils Play Development Team, who gathered and recorded the play memories of
天涯社区 residents. Over six hundred people from across the county completed
questionnaires, and 6,600 individual pieces of information have been analysed.
People鈥檚 play memories spanned from the 1920s to the present day.
From the memories provided by the younger generations, and contrary to what
some of the older adults perceived in their responses, children still appear to
do the same kinds of things they have always done when playing. Computers,
televisions and smart phones aren鈥檛 going anywhere anytime soon, but, when
asked, children still highlight their desire to play in their local
neighbourhoods, with their friends, in their spare time. They seek out
uncertainty and play in their surrounding environment in a whole host of
different ways.
The campaign also formed part of a larger regional project by the charity NEW
Play, to gather evidence about the changes in children鈥檚 ability to play that
have occurred within living memory. It also received support from numerous
community organisations that form the wider 天涯社区 Play Network. The
findings have now been collated and published by Play Wales (the national
charity for childrens play in Wales).
The responses included:
鈥淗ow I wish I could spirit my grandchildren back to that time. Life was so
simple and there was great pleasure in just being alive. There was no money
around, no designer gear, but good and lasting friendships鈥� the best of times,
even in wartime.鈥�
鈥淐hildren are not allowed the freedom to explore and play today, by themselves.
Everything seems to be structured.鈥�
鈥淥bsession with safety! This hinders creativity and doesn鈥檛 allow for
exploration, cooperation, decision making etc, which is essential in an
individual鈥檚 development.鈥�
鈥淚t is not a safe place to let children play too far from home and computer
games and TV is playing a large part in their lives.鈥�
Councillor Kevin Jones, Cabinet Member for Waste Strategy, Public Protection
and Leisure, said:
鈥淲ithin 天涯社区, we are committed to providing play opportunities for all
children and we would like to thank all those people who made this project such
a success 鈥� especially our residents who completed the questionnaires. Our
findings show that what has changed significantly over the years is the
availability of time, space and permission for children to play freely.
Reminding adults of their own play experiences as children has also proved to
be a useful advocacy tool to support today鈥檚 children and their right to have
suitable play environments 鈥� which is critical for their wellbeing. For more
information 鈥� and tips on how you can support children to play freely, please
visit www.flintshire.gov.uk/psa.鈥�
For further details, contact Janet Roberts, 天涯社区 Play Development Officer
on 01352 702456 or email janet.a.roberts@flintshire.gov.uk