Play access in cities is critical to children’s development – report
Society has ‘an obligation to reclaim play in cities’ because of the ‘critical role’ it plays in child development and learning, says a global play rights alliance. The Real Play Coalition says the evidence is overwhelming...Read more
Winter play campaign aims to get kids outdoors
The Association of Play Industries (API) is promoting a new initiative aimed at getting children outdoors and using playgrounds over the winter. It has joined forces with Leyla Preston, founder of online parenting platform Motherhood Diaries...Read more
Decline in playgrounds is a ‘public health issue’
The worrying trend of closing public playgrounds in the UK poses a real ‘public health issue’, say campaigners. Addressing a ‘massive decline’ in mainly urban playgrounds across the country, the Association of Play Industries (API) has...Read more
Bernard van Leer playground guide now in Spanish
The Bernard van Leer Foundation’s Playground Ideas for 0-3 years is now available in Spanish. This guide shares practical ideas for designing playgrounds that work for children aged 0-3 and their caregivers. It outlines the functions play...Read more
That public playground is good for your kids and your wallet
If you live near a public playground it can be a convenient outdoor destination for short excursions and a life-saving source of pressure relief when the kids are too surly to bear inside the house....Read more
Watching TV ‘has strongest link’ with childhood obesity – study
Watching television is the lifestyle habit ‘most strongly associated’ with obesity in children, says an international health research centre which looked at city children’s habits. The Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) did a study of...Read more
If in doubt, let them out – children have the right to play
New research from Statistics Canada’s Canadian Health Measures Survey reaffirmed the dramatic decline in Canadian children’s fitness seen over the past 35 years — with only one-third of Canadian school-aged children meeting physical activity guidelines. Other...Read more
Bulgarian city offers tax cuts to families of sporty children
Getting children active has never been more important – kudos then to a Bulgarian city which is proposing to cut the taxes of families whose children take part in organised sport. The local taxes and fees...Read more
New UK government ‘must reinstate urban playgrounds’
The next government of the United Kingdom must provide ‘urgent and sustained funding’ for public playgrounds to reverse an ‘alarming decline’ in the past few years. That’s the message from the Association of Play Industries (API),...Read more
Children ‘benefit from mixed-age play’
A generation ago, play was something most parents thought about. On a nice day, parents would send kids out into the neighbourhood in the morning, telling them to be back for dinner. That’s rare these...Read moreExhibition celebrates the history of playgrounds
The historical development of children’s urban playgrounds forms a central part of a fascinating new exhibition in London. Play Well is highlighting the work of – among others – Friedrich Fröbel, the German inventor of the...Read more
Children’s Commissioner’s concern over kids’ online gaming habits
The Children’s Commissioner for England wants tighter rules to protect children who game online and can spend hundreds of pounds on so-called ‘rewards’. Anna Longfield has published a report, Gaming the system’ , which looks at...Read more
Show kids how to play in a healthy Amsterdam
A new online book shows how ‘healthy play’ in Amsterdam can shape the futures of children growing up and playing in the city. Spelen In De Stad / Playing in the City is designed to show...Read more
Filmmaker documents youngsters’ city lives
The lives of toddlers in two contrasting cities on opposite sides of the world are chronicled in videos from the Bernard van Leer Foundation (BvLF), which works to improve disadvantaged children’s lives. Five short films highlight...Read more