Research on children and play

Play England aims for all children and young people in England to have regular access to and opportunity for free, inclusive, local play provision and play space.


Children and Play
Research commissioned by Play England from the University of Gloucestershire.

Children are motivated by play because:

1. 
   
   They enjoy it because of the uncertainty and spontaneity of it.



2. Expressing themselves and how they feel.Playing causes the brain to develop flexible and adaptive responses:developing children's resilience and emotional literacy.

Restrictions and constraints on children's free play therefore risk making them less emotionally responsive and resilient.

ICM Poll For Play Day Campaign

Children and young people's favourite activities.

Being with friends/siblings/socialising/talking- 43%

Football- 41%

Bikes/Scooters- 31%

Messing around/Hanging around- 12%

Exercises-9%

Walking-7%

Hide and Seek -6%

Playing On Swings-3%

Hopscotch-1%

Evidence about children's play in Time to Talk

• 
  
  
  It's known that access to green spaces help to facilitate relaxation and recovery from mental fatigue and stress.



• 
  
  
  Children's independent mobility has decreased and children are less likely to play out unsupervised.



• 
  
  
  Both children and parents want more access to public space.



• 
  
  
  Play is important in developing resilience, a key aspect of children's well being.



• 
  
  
  When asked what the government could do to help them, one of the key things that parents and carers identified of spaces for families to interact- particularly supervised spaces- and the need for resources to make local parks, communities and their local areas safe. One result of parents concerns is that children are less likely to play outside unsupervised, with a particular impact on the under 12's. This is partly due to parental fears but other factors such as increase in car use, the lack of the child's voice in public space design.

Playday

Playday is the annual celebration of children's right of play.

Playday 2008 campaign

This reports findings from a qualitative study of children and young peoples experiences and perceptions of risk in play.

The body of research has four parts:

1. Qualitative study.




2. Survey conducted by ICM of adults and children's perceptions of risk in play.




3. Qualitative study of play provides investigating the benefits and challenges of providing adventurous play opportunities for children and young people.




4. Literature Review.

The qualitative research has been conducted and produced by the National Children's Bureau research and evaluation department.

A range of children and young people were consulted for the study. Groups were held in inner city, rural and small town locations in England and were held in different settings such as schools and adventure play grounds. The ages ranged from 8-13 years of age.