Have our children forgotten how to play?

May 23 2011 by Zoe Chamberlain, Sunday Mercury

CHILDHOOD memories are precious, but could be precious few.

Climbing trees, playing games in the street, or spending lazy summer days exploring local woods were once favoured outdoor activities for older generations of kids.

But with increasing health and safety rules and a boom in organised clubs, are the children of today in danger of forgetting how to play?

We launched a Wonderkids campaign last week, supported by Legal & General, to look at the issue.

“In some ways we’ve forgotten how to play because everything is so structured now,’’ says Lindsay Jane Brown, a children’s creative practitioner from Birmingham. “It goes back to the thought that the cardboard box is often better than the present. You don’t need toys and games to play.

“Active play doesn’t need batteries. It’s about engaging and creating and letting children have that freedom.

“Imaginative play boosts their self esteem and gives them a sense of pride that someone is listening to their ideas, that someone is valuing what they are saying.

“We seem to have lost something about children being the age they are, rather than preparing them for the ‘next stage’. They are young for such a short space of time, the longer you can nurture that the better.’’