The government announced this week that 1,300 playgrounds across 132 councils have been axed to save £235m. This news comes out a week after Play England released research showing that 81% of people believe that “children playing outside helped to improve community spirit” and 70% say it makes an area “more desirable” to live in, but 50% saying that it is too dangerous to play outdoors unsupervised.
This drop in investment for play areas is a massive blow to these communities. Investing in play means investing in the physical and mental health of children because so many parents will take their kids to the park, but not let them play out in ‘playable’ spaces. And here is the point – you don’t have to have expensive play grounds if you have playable places that children are allowed to play in. Indeed on the 4th of August the focus on Play England’s Play Day campaign “Our place puts children at the heart of our communities, and asks everyone, young and old, to help create better places for all of us to live and play”.
Gardens, paths, open space, woodland, empty shops and street corners are all playable but children need to reclaim many of these places in greater numbers and parents need to let them. The reality is that many of the professional health and safety bodies agree that children who are allowed to grow up assessing and taking reasonable risks will be healthier in the long term.
I love what these Playborhood are doing with their signs in the United States. Anyone can buy their signs that publicly mark out a community that welcomes play, an initiative that would be great to see here in the UK.
Daniel Raven-Ellison, The Geography Collective
One of the authors of Mission:Explore, 102 missions for kids to explore and see the world in new ways. Available at Waterstones and on Amazon for £5.96. http://www.missionexplore.co.uk
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