Play Opportunities Research Articles

An Observational Study on Play and Physical Activity Associated with a Recreational Facility-Led Park-Based "Loose Parts" Play Intervention during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Play is a human right, yet opportunities for unstructured play are declining. The COVID-19 pandemic further reduced children's play opportunities. We conducted an observational study of a novel community-based intervention (play hubs) that facilitated unstructured play by offering loose parts in parks (Calgary, Canada) during the pandemic. Our descriptive study included systematic observation using the System for Observing Children's Activity and Relationships During Play (SOCARP) and Tool for Observing Play Outdoors (TOPO) to capture physical activity, play, and social and environment interactions among children participating in the play hubs for 10-weeks in 2021 (n = 160) and 2022 (n = 147). Play hub attendance was low. Most children observed were aged 5 to 12 years (2021: 93% and 2022 98%), with boys and girls represented (2021: 58% male/42% female and 2022: 52% male/48% female). Standing, sitting, and moderate activity were common activities. Physical, exploratory, and expressive play were common, while digital, bio, and rule-based play were less common. Children typically played alone or in small groups and engaged with loose parts or played in the open spaces. The play hubs encouraged unstructured play and promoted positive social interactions among children, despite the challenges of implementing a community-based intervention under pandemic public health restrictions.

Longitudinal association between children’s mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness: Executive functioning and social–emotional competence as potential mediators

This study investigated the direct relationships between kindergarten children’s object and social mastery motivation and future cognitive school readiness and the indirect relationships mediated through executive functioning and social–emotional competence in the school context. The participants were 103 Hong Kong kindergarten children (45.6% girls; mean age = 60.4 months) and their teachers. The teachers reported the children’s demographic information and object and social mastery motivation at Time 1 (in the middle of the school year). They rated the children’s executive functioning, social–emotional competence and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 (at the end of the school year). The results from the path analysis model revealed that the children’s object mastery motivation at Time 1, but not their social mastery motivation, directly predicted their cognitive school readiness at Time 2. The indirect relationships between (a) object mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through executive functioning (indirect effect: β =.32, SE =.05, p <.001) and (b) social mastery motivation at Time 1 and cognitive school readiness at Time 2 mediated through social–emotional competence (indirect effect: β =.09, SE =.03, p <.01) were significant. The findings highlight the differential roles of object and social mastery motivation in predicting children’s cognitive school readiness and propose children’s executive functioning and social–emotional competence as processes mediating the relationships. The results also suggest the desirability of providing kindergarten children with extensive play opportunities and materials to support their mastery motivation and cognitive school readiness.

Children’s opportunities for play in the built environment: a scoping review

ABSTRACT Designing opportunities for play in the built environment is crucial to support children’s health and development. A growing research focus on child-friendly environments has evidenced a shift toward creating spaces and buildings that take children’s needs seriously and work with children as capable experts and active collaborators. Yet, limited attention has focused on how different scholars conceptualise and operationalise research on understanding and designing opportunities for play in the built environment. This paper reports on the findings of a scoping review of peer-reviewed empirical literature (51 publications) from 1994 to 2019. We examine the trends and trajectories in conceptualising and operationalising research on understanding and designing opportunities for play and map the landscape of scholarship through four analytical categories: (1) who is involved in play and research studies, (2) what is the thematic focus and in what ways is play investigated in reviewed studies, (3) how are opportunities for play explored methodologically, including how/when are children involved in research, and (4) where do play and research studies occur. Our findings reveal three key challenges for future work: (i) greater appreciation and engagement with children’s diversity; (ii) ensuring a nuanced understanding of play as a spectrum of opportunities and types; and (iii) exploring the democratic context of play between formal and informal play spaces to bolster children’s right to the city. We invite researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to work closely with children, engage with their diversity and explore interdisciplinary and interprofessional avenues to promote opportunities for play across the built environment.

Children’s Digital and Non-Digital Play Practices with Cozmo, the Toy Robot

Children’s Digital and Non-Digital Play Practices with Cozmo, the Toy Robot

What children’s perspectives on safe and dangerous outdoor play can tell us about their risk-seeking and injury experiences: ‘You don’t feel right doing the thing that got you hurt’

BackgroundUnintentional injuries are a leading cause of children’s hospitalisations and death globally and are thus a pressing public health concern. Fortunately, they are largely preventable, and understanding children’s perspectives on...

Facilitating loose parts play with elementary school staff: professional development and implementation from the perspective of the facilitator

ABSTRACT Background The evidence on loose parts play suggests its potential for positive impact on physical activity levels, social-emotional and cognitive outcomes, and the overall quality of play experiences in the outdoors. The facilitator plays a key role in ensuring these effective measures are fostered. However, literature specific to facilitators’ (e.g. teachers, professional development (PD) providers) roles and responsibilities with loose parts play is limited. It is the intention of this research to expand beyond what loose parts play is and its benefits, and include how it can be implemented in a safe and meaningful way from the perspective of the facilitator. Purpose The purpose of this research was to explore Adrian’s roles and responsibilities as a facilitator of PD about loose parts play. Investigating and critiquing the roles and responsibilities of Adrian, has the potential to offer evidence and insight to individuals and school communities considering their own loose parts play implementation. Method This research used a self-study methodology. A self-study allowed Adrian to focus on learning from and through their experience as a facilitator to ultimately challenge and/or reinforce their pedagogical approaches for providing PD on loose parts play implementation. Self-study methodology allowed for in-depth explanations of Adrian’s roles and responsibilities and while interrogating their new learning to share insights to improve facilitation practices. Data from facilitation sessions and guided journal reflections were collected and analysed using Braun and Clarke’s (2012) thematic analysis framework. Findings Five themes describe the roles and responsibilities of a loose parts play facilitator: (a) experiential learning; (b) explicit communication; (c) contextual considerations; (d) relationships and (e) reflective practice. The themes generated reinforce existing findings in the literature on facilitation and PD such as offering experiences that are ‘hands-on’ and practically involving the audience; ensuring clearly communicated goals are part of the instruction process; deepening relationships by engaging dialogue between school communities; knowing your audience and adapting to their needs and readiness; and encouraging participants to be reflective. This research contributes to the literature, validating the roles and responsibilities of the facilitator, by demonstrating continuity between the five themes and the components of Comprehensive School Health (healthy school policy; social and physical environment; teaching and learning; partnerships and services) a framework used to build healthy school communities. For example, school policy can be unique to its context and needs to be explicitly communicated with all involved partners to ensure the expectations of implementation are commonly understood. Additionally, teaching and learning includes drawing upon and acknowledging a participant’s lived experience with play through experiential play opportunities. Furthermore, one way to attend to the social environment is to foster relationships with students by guiding their involvement throughout implementation. Whereas the quality and availability of the physical environment, specific to each context, will impact where, when and how play can be facilitated. Conclusion In committing to these roles and responsibilities the facilitator is dedicated to facilitating PD about, and implementing loose parts play using a comprehensive approach that supports the achievement of academic and health outcomes in students.

The importance of multimodal play and storytelling in medtech for children: A Case Study of Co-designing a Mixed Realities Play Kit to Prepare 4 to 10-year-Olds for an MRI Scan

This article examines the research and development of a mixed realities play-kit to prepare children for an MRI scan to be undertaken without the need for a General Anaesthetic. The kit uses three different types of play; augmented, virtual reality and physical to help children become familiar with the look of an MRI scanner, the noises it makes, the role of the radiographer, what to expect when they go to hospital and to practise staying still. We reflect on the initial multimodal research methods that were used to bring children into the first stages of the design and development process. These included, model making, drawing, play and informal conversations. From which, data were analysed with visual and thematic means to make an original contribution to the field of medtech design for children, in that we found young children (aged six and under) prefer to receive medical information through opportunities for multimodal play and storytelling. As a direct result of this finding, we matched different play types to the various areas of preparation outlined above. In doing so, paying attention to the specific affordances of the different ways in which modes are combined depending on if physical, augmented or virtual reality play are used. Such findings are likely to be useful to other researchers and developers creating medtech products for young children. For those interested in multimodality specifically, this article also provides insight into the connection between information, modes of communication and play and the application of these to research design.

Adventurous play in schools: The parent perspective

AbstractAdventurous play (play that is exciting and thrilling, where children take age‐appropriate risks, for example climbing trees and jumping from rocks) is increasingly being recognised as beneficial for child health and development. Despite this, children's opportunities for and engagement in this type of play have declined in recent decades. Break times in schools may provide an ideal opportunity to provide adventurous play opportunities for all children. Recent work has identified myriad factors that help and hinder schools in offering adventurous play opportunities, but parent perspectives have largely been absent. Through one‐to‐one semistructured qualitative interviews, this study aimed at capture parents' perspectives on adventurous play happening in schools and what they perceive as the key barriers to and facilitators of adventurous play in schools. The findings were analysed using reflective thematic analysis. Five themes were identified: Needs, Schools as Gatekeepers, Risks and Benefits, Societal Constraints and Individual Differences. Findings are discussed with reference to parental support for adventurous play, as well as parent and school level needs that should be addressed if barriers that may hinder adventurous play opportunities in school are to be overcome.

The Well-Being Effects of Developing and Staging a Community Festival During the Coronavirus Pandemic

This article considers the well-being outcomes of a community festival that was developed and staged in 2020, during the first lockdown associated with the coronavirus pandemic (hereafter the pandemic). It is an autoethnographic account that reports on well-being benefits as people engaged in a festival project together. Social aspects of well-being were enhanced through collaboration and connection, positivity, and community volunteering. Environmental aspects of well-being were enhanced by activities that reconceptualized and reworked the local environment and enabled learning and sharing. The festival created opportunities for play, laughter, and frivolity and developing a community story of sharing and coping. The conclusion identifies the learning from the process of creating a community festival in the midst of crises in the hope that others will be able to take some of these ideas forward in their own communities.

Is parental propensity to risk associated with their child’s medically-attended injuries? A cross-sectional study

Background: Societal expectations about safety influence parents’ risk perceptions and children’s risky play opportunities. This study examined parents’ propensity to take risks themselves and their propensity to accept risks for their child, sex-related differences in parents’ propensity to accept risks for their child, and the association between parents’ propensity to accept risks for their child and that child’s medically-attended injury history. Methods: A total of 467 parents attending a pediatric hospital with their 6–12-year-old child completed a questionnaire about their risk propensity for themselves and for their child and reported their child's injury history. Results: Parents’ risk propensity for themselves was significantly higher than for their child, and fathers’ risk propensity for themselves was higher than mothers’. Linear regressions showed that fathers reported significantly more propensity to accept risks for their child than mothers, but parents did not differentiate between their sons and daughters. A binary logistic regression showed that parents’ propensity to accept risks for their child was a significant predictor of pediatric medically-attended injury. Conclusions: Parents were more comfortable in taking risks for themselves than for their child. While fathers were more comfortable with their children engaging in risks than mothers, child’s sex was not related to parents’ propensity to accept risks for their child. Pediatric injury was predicted by parents’ propensity to accept risks for their child. Further research investigating injury type and severity related parent risk propensity is needed to determine how parents’ attitudes toward risk might relate to severe injury.

Children's access to play during the COVID-19 pandemic in the urban context in Turkey

ABSTRACT In this opinion paper, I trace children’s access to play in the urban context against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic. Drawing on the news, civil society organizations’ reports and conversations with experts working in Istanbul, Turkey during the last year, I show how children’s access to public places in the city gets constrained by urban governance that neglects young people’s needs. Examples from the neighborhoods of Istanbul, Turkey, indicate the importance of having in mind the whole community while thinking about bringing play opportunities in public spaces and at the same time raise questions about children’s participation in these processes.

Irish Schoolyards: Teacher’s Experiences of Their Practices and Children’s Play-“It’s Not as Straight Forward as We Think”

ABSTRACT With the inclusion of play as a right, schools are urged to consider whether all children can access play opportunities in schoolyards. Refocusing on play as occupation is identified as an important way in which occupational therapists can contribute within schools. Greater knowledges of children’s play and teachers’ practices, in schoolyards in an Irish context, is required however to guide practices. This inquiry used interviews to explore with 10 primary school teachers, their practices, and experiences of children’s play in Irish schoolyards. Reflexive thematic analysis was used to generate three interrelated themes. These were a) Break(in)time: Play in schoolyards as different from other ways of doing within schools, b) play as producing inclusion and exclusion, c) and certainties and uncertainties produced in teachers’ everyday practices. This inquiry generated knowledges on the social nature of children’s play and teachers” practices in Irish schoolyards as negotiated processes, interacting with diverse intentions, and the particularities of each schoolyard. The consequences of individualizing choice were highlighted as central to the production of inclusion and exclusion in schoolyards. Greater consideration of how children’s play and teachers” practices occur as collective occupations, is proposed to advance inclusive schoolyards.

Mommy, Can I Play Outside? How Urban Design Influences Parental Attitudes on Play.

Although play results in physical, social, and cognitive benefits, there is a consensus that children's opportunities to play have been reduced, particularly for those who live in urban environments. What are the barriers to play, and how can we mitigate them? This review examines a critical factor in play opportunities: parents as the decision-makers with regard to children's play. Using perspectives from psychology, urban design, and cognitive science, we analyze the relationships between the design of built environments, parental attitudes and beliefs, and parental decisions on allowing children to play. For example, can a new implementation of children-centered urban design change parents' skeptical attitude toward play? By drawing from global studies, we chart (1) the three key beliefs of parents regarding play and built environments: play should benefit learning, be safe, and match the child's competence and (2) the design principles that can foster these beliefs: learning, social, and progressive challenge designs. By making the link between parents, urban design, and play explicit, this paper aims to inform parents, educators, policymakers, urban planners, and architects on the evidence-based measures for creating and increasing opportunities to play.

Adventurous play for a healthy childhood: Facilitators and barriers identified by parents in Britain

RationaleAdventurous play, where children take age-appropriate risks involving uncertainty, fear, and thrill, is positively associated with children's physical health, mental health, and development. There is growing concern that children's access to and engagement with adventurous play opportunities are declining in Westernised countries, which may have negative implications for children's health. ObjectiveThe current study aimed to ascertain the facilitators of and barriers to children's adventurous play most identified by parents in Britain and to determine whether these differ across socio-demographic and geographic groups. MethodsThis study analysed the responses of a nationally representative sample of 1919 parents who took part in the British Children's Play Survey. Two open-ended questions asked parents to identify what they perceive to be the facilitators of and barriers to their child's adventurous play. A quantitative coding scheme, developed using the qualitative framework identified by Oliver et al. (2022), was applied to parents' responses. ResultsA diversity in the most identified facilitators and barriers was found, including concerns about the risk of injury from adventurous play and the safety of society, positive attitudes about the benefits of adventurous play, as well as factors related to child attributes. In general, these were consistently identified across different socio-demographic and geographic groups, although some differences were found in barriers. ConclusionsThe findings of this research support the identification of key targets for those working with parents to improve children's adventurous play opportunities and ultimately their physical and mental health. Future research should seek to design and tailor interventions by asking parents about the support they would value.

The bigger, the better

What are the developmental benefits of larger outdoors equipment, and how are some settings using it to provide varied play and learning opportunities? By Karen Hart

Street play, wellbeing and mental health from childhood into adulthood

IntroductionThere is growing interest in the role of children’s play in supporting children’s mental health. Children’s opportunitities for play vary according to the space available to them for play, with more adventurous play happening outdoors (Dodd et al., 2021). The area close to children’s home, such as the street outside their home, can provide an important play space but, with increasing traffic, there has been a decrease in the use of local streets for play over the past generation or two. At the same time we have seen significant increases in children’s mental health problems.ObjectivesOur objectives were: 1) to examine how trends in street play have changed over time; 2) to examine how children’s self-reported wellbeing is associated with their use of streets for play; 3) to examine how adult mental health is associated with their childhood street play experiences.MethodsWorking in collaboration with Save the Children and Play England, we surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1000 children and young people aged 6-16 years, 1000 adults aged 18+ and 1000 parents of children aged 6-16 years about children’s play in their local area and their memories of play during their own childhood. All participants also completed measures of wellbeing (children) or mental health (adults). Participants were recruited from Great Britian.ResultsWe found striking differences in the use of streets and local areas for play. For example, across all adults, 62% told us that they regularly played out in their street or area close to home as a child. In contrast 27% of children told us that they regularly play out now. By breaking down the proportion of participants who said they regularly played in their street or local area by their age group, their is a clear decline in outdoor street play over the past 70 years. We asked children about their wellbeing using the Stirling Children’s Wellbeing Scale. Children who said that they regularly played out in their street had higher levels of positive emotion but this was only true for children under 13 years. Adults who told us that they regularly played out in their street or area close to their home as a child had better mental health as adults (lower scores on the K6). Similarly, adults who told us that there was freedom for children to go and explore in the neighbourhood they lived in as a child had better mental health as adults.ConclusionsTaken together these findings suggest that being able to play in the street or area close to home is linked to wellbeing during childhood and early adolescence and further, that having these expriences during childhood may be beneficial for mental health into adulthood. This indicates that when considering how to support the development of good mental health we should keep in mind the importance of children’s opportunities for play and the role that access to their local enviornment plays in supporting play.Disclosure of InterestNone Declared

Navigating Neighbourhood Opposition and Climate Change: Feasibility and Acceptability of a Play Street Pilot in Sydney, Australia.

Play Streets are community-led initiatives that provide opportunities for outdoor play and recreation when parks or other facilities may not be easily accessible. This pragmatic evaluation aims to determine the feasibility and acceptability of a pilot Play Street in Inner West Sydney. We used a post-only mixed methods design. Brief intercept surveys with pilot Play Street visitors assessed their reasons for attending the event and perceptions thereof. Semi-structured interviews explored stakeholders' experiences related to planning and implementing Play Streets. Approximately 60 adults and children attended the pilot Play Street. The majority of survey respondents (n = 32) were female, aged 35-54, lived in the Play Street's postcode, and visited in groups consisting of adults and children. Overall respondents rated the pilot positively in enjoyment (100%), safety (97%), and organisation (81%), although there were significant differences between certain demographic subgroups in the perception of organisation and the children's enjoyment of the pilot Play Street. Stakeholder interviews (n = 2) highlighted the importance of community consultation and reaching compromises, noting concerns about safety and insurance costs, and emphasised the role of Council as a facilitator to help residents take ownership of Play Streets. Delays due to community concerns, poor air quality arising from bushfires, heavy rain on the event day, and COVID-19 lockdowns hindered pilot Play Street implementation and evaluation. This pilot demonstrated that Play Streets are a feasible and acceptable way to use streets as outdoor recreation spaces in Sydney's Inner West. The evaluation highlights two elements for future sustainability: managing neighbourhood opposition and adapting to climate change.

Playing at the Schoolyard: “The Who’s, the What’s and the How Long’s” of Loose Parts

Play has a key role in children psychomotor development, and the quality of play spaces can be a facilitator of the former. The physical properties of the environment, such as equipment or material available, can influence children's behavior. However, it is not clear how the provision of different loose parts impacts children's play patterns. This study aimed to analyze the influence of four types of loose parts on the time, frequency and number of children using them during free play sessions. We recorded the 1st, 5th and 10th sessions delivered by playworkers in a primary school, with 14 children (Mage = 9.96 years). The available loose parts were categorized, and four types of materials were chosen: tarpaulin/fabrics, cardboard boxes, plastic crates and plastic tubes. The influence of these materials on the time spent using them, frequency of use and number and sex of users (dependent variables) was analyzed. Some tendencies emerged, such as the popularity of tarpaulin/fabrics, but results showed no significant differences between materials. This could mean that the specific physical qualities of each loose part were not determiners of the behavioral domains analyzed. These findings suggest that all types of materials studied can be meaningful for children to engage with in diverse play opportunities.

Skateboarding in the empty city: a radical archive of alternative pandemic mobilities

COVID-19 ruptured mobilities within and between cities during 2020–2022. Empty urban landscapes came to define experiences, representations, and memories of lockdowns and ensuing periods of recovery. However, empty cities provided opportunities for play and exploration in subcultures like skateboarding. Skateboarders, among other groups, took advantage of relative emptiness to access known skate spots and to discover new spots, charting new cartographies of urban landscapes in the process. Performances at these spots were captured and circulated through skateboard media, especially video. Skateboarding footage captured in empty cities acts as a radical archive of alternative mobilities during the pandemic, unsettling dominant tropes of immobility. By analyzing a preeminent skate video shot in Sydney during the pandemic, this article makes three points of argument. First, skate video archives shifting speeds and scales of mobility and immobility during the pandemic; as some mobilities halted, others accelerated. Second, confusing legal geographies, what was permitted and where, created new surveillance priorities and multiple surveillance glitches. Skateboarders took advantage and accessed patches of cities usually obstructed. Third, as cities try and regain their buzz, playful, unpredictable, and unregulated mobile performances with the power to enliven the streets deserve reconsideration, even if they defy control.

The Future of Science Teaching: Pre-Primary Teachers Knowledge of Educational Robotics in STEM Learning in Plateau State

Recent pedagogical paradigm shift in early childhood Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) suggest that there is an increasing interest on covering the gap of the missing ‘‘T’’ of technology and ‘‘E’’ of engineering in early childhood STEM curricula. A tangible innovation and play based hands – on minds – on way that children can engage with both T and E concepts of STEM during their foundational early childhood years is through robotics education. Educational robotics is the design aimed making children to advance their ability to think, design and build robots that perform a variety of task in a developmentally appropriate way. It also provides opportunities for play -based hands-on learning of technology and engineering to young children in a developmentally appropriate way. Despite the promise and use of educational robotics in early childhood curriculum. Little attention seems to have been placed on engaging the teachers and learners at the early childhood levels to benefit from this 21st century innovation. What are the level of teachers and educators knowledge, competence in enacting robotics as part of the early childhood curriculum in Nigeria? This study seeks to investigate this. The design used was the descriptive survey design. This design provided opportunity for respondents to express their knowledge about educational robotics. The population will consist of 150 in- service ECCE teachers at the Federal College of education Pankshin who enrolled in 2022 contact session. Intact population was used as sample. Data was collected using Robotics knowledge Questionnaire. The questionnaire sort six aspects of educational robotics knowledge by teachers: Awareness, knowledge familiarity and Application. Instrument was validated and reliability ascertained by expert in test and measurement. Findings indicate the pre-service teachers have low awareness, knowledge, familiarity and application of educational robotics and are not prepared to enact it in their STEM classroom. It was that concluded that teacher’s robotics knowledge was poor. It was recommended that massive professional development be implemented for teachers on play based use of educational robotics in STEM learning. It was concluded that the future of STEM learning in Nigeria will depend on a deployment of effective platform for robotics study through continuous professional development for teachers and educators how will be be3tter poised for attaining the SDGs in Nigeria.