News flash: children with disabilities also have an appetite for adventure

Posted on August 28, 2012 | 5 comments

Photo of aaron fotheringhamMy city is about to host the Paralympic Games. The prospect of watching the talents of disabled sportspeople has got me thinking about the lives of children and young people with disabilities. Just like their non-disabled peers, they have an appetite for risk and adventure. By way of a demonstration, I would like to introduce you to Aaron Fotheringham.

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Posted in Risk

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Traditional outdoor games: why do they matter?

Posted on August 22, 2012 | 45 comments

3 children playing hopscotchA survey out today points to a decline in traditional outdoor games like hopscotch, marbles and conkers. You may have heard me talking about the findings on Radio 5 live this morning, supporting the call for a ‘rough and tumble play’ campaign. Mourning the loss of such games makes a nice summer season story. But does it really matter? Isn’t the attempt to revive interest in these games just shallow nostalgia? Is it even adults’ business to get involved? After all, these games have traditionally been passed down through the generations by children themselves, with little or no adult input.

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Posted in Outdoor play, Parenting, play

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Play in the Olympic Park: latest plans

Posted on August 2, 2012 | 4 comments

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park aerial conceptHere in London, the Games are in full swing, and are hard to avoid. Perhaps easier to miss is the fact that plans are also well underway for the new public park that will be created in the wake of the Games. Indeed some key planning milestones were passed only last week.

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Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, play, Play spaces, playground, Public space

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When anxious parents are the problem, what is the solution?

Posted on July 25, 2012 | 16 comments

baby-girl-knee-padsHow should schools, nurseries, kindergartens and other education, childcare and play services respond to anxious parents? I was asked this question recently by an Australian early years educator who heard me speak a couple of months ago.

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Posted in Education, Learning, Outdoor play, Parenting, Risk

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“To be nowhere at home but in life itself”

Posted on July 19, 2012 | 9 comments

dribble sculptureHere are some finely crafted lines on the role of adults in children’s education, from the German poet H H Dreiske:

One should teach children to dance
on a tightrope without a safety net,
to sleep at night alone under the sky,
to row a boat out on the open sea.

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Posted in Education

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What would you do with this space?

Posted on July 17, 2012 | 34 comments

Disused overgrown tennis courtSome disused, overgrown tennis courts near where we live are going to be converted into a community play garden, and I would love to hear your ideas about what could be done there. I am keen for the garden to be a great place for local children and families: where they can have the kind of playful, hands-on, exploratory experiences of nature that I highlighted in my Sowing the Seeds report.

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34 Comments

Posted in Nature, Outdoor play, play, Play spaces

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