I am thrilled to share the news that I am heading to Australia in mid-October for two weeks of talks and workshops across the country.
The events start in Perth on 17th Oct, and take me to Melbourne, Adelaide, and Sydney before finishing in Brisbane at the end of that month. See the end of this post for a listing.
Continue readingPosted in Mobility, Outdoor play, playground, Public policy, Public space, Risk, Urban planning
Tagged Adelaide, Australia, Brisbane, Canberra, child-friendly cities, child-friendly urban planning, Melbourne, outdoor play, Perth, playground, Risk, Sydney
It seems timely to share a post that child psychology academic Prof Helen Dodd and I wrote for The Conversation in March last year. With many schoolchildren at home once more, millions of parents across the UK are grappling with the added pressure of trying to home-school at the same time as holding everything else together.
“Free play can also help children make sense of things they find hard to understand.” Helen Dodd and Tim Gill
In one sense lockdown may be a little less daunting this time around, in part because of the hope offered by the vaccination programme. That said, many parents will be all too aware of the impact of school closures on their children’s education. They will be desperate to do whatever they can to keep their children from falling further behind.
Posted in Covid-19, Outdoor play, Parenting, play, playground
Tagged Covid-19, outdoor play, parenting, playground
Authors: Tim Gill and Penny Wilson
[Updated 25 April 2020 and on previous dates, with new links to other posts, ideas and reflections, plus a few additions (in italic) and deletions (in strikethrough text) to reflect the 23 March 2020 address to the nation from the UK Prime Minister, and subsequent official guidance for England.]
The lives of parents and caregivers around the world are being turned upside down. But amidst all the fear, stress and uncertainty, children of all ages still want – and need – to play.
This post shares some thoughts and ideas on supporting children’s play in these challenging times, bearing in mind that they may need to be indoors, or socially distancing themselves following official guidance if they are outside.
Photo: Wikipedia (creative commons licence)
Posted in Covid-19, Outdoor play, Parenting, play
Tagged coronavirus, Covid-19, health, outdoor play, parenting, play, playwork
Is child-friendly urban planning and design a ‘rich city’ pursuit? Or can it gain traction in the global South, where most of the world’s urban children will soon be living? I spent a week in Recife, Brazil exploring this question.
Anji Play – a public kindergarten service running in 140 centres for 14,000 children aged 3-6 in Anji County, China – is gaining an international profile for its emphasis on outdoor play and its relaxed approach to risk. I first stumbled on it a couple of years ago, thanks to this widely-shared video on Facebook. More recently my curiosity was piqued by its inclusion in a superb episode of the Netflix TV documentary ‘Abstract’, on the US construction toy designer and play advocate Cas Holman.
Then I realised that an upcoming trip to China was going to take me literally to Anji Play’s doorstep. So I persuaded my Chinese clients to exploit this lucky coincidence and set up a visit.
My first view of the schoolyard at Anji Play
This post shares some thoughts on what I saw and heard. It ends with a short interview with Anji Play’s founder, Cheng Xueqin, who has just stepped down from her role as head of service.
Posted in early childhood, Education, Morality, Outdoor play, play
Tagged Anji Play, China, early childhood, early years, education, outdoor play, risky play
Authors: Tim Gill, Adrian Voce, Darell Hammond and Mariana Brussoni
Cities around the world are failing children. 30 years after the launch of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child – which aimed to make children’s needs and views central in policy making – most cities are hostile if not life-threatening places for their youngest inhabitants.
The global death toll of children on the roads is surely the most shocking illustration of the failure of urban planning. Road traffic is the leading global cause of death among people aged 15–29, and the second highest single cause of death for children aged 5–14.
Ciudad Bolivar, Bogota
Rethinking Childhood 