The Lost Element - Play


by Jeff Hill, CEO of Children's Scrapstore.
It has been my privilege during the last 11 years to be engaged with one of the most incredible and inspiring areas of human behaviour that I can imagine.

I have watched while human beings make amazing and astounding discoveries, experienced breakthroughs in social behaviour, and construct complex and beautiful things from pointless rubbish.

I work in play, supporting children in their development and supporting a sector in its effort to support children. Luckily, I am in a unique position as the services we deliver are of extreme value to our members and the children that we serve.

During my time in this field I have had to learn about play, the critical role that it has in children’s development and the unique and skilful way in which play is professionally delivered to the benefit of everyone.

As an ordinary citizen of this country I watch as various governments come and go and their policies shape the world that we live in. Sometimes a good one arrives, and other times poor ones are generated. Like everybody else I can see the madness in some of these and how some of them are necessary.

To my mind the Key Elements which go to make up a successful society are these:
  • Health
  • Economy
  • Community
  • Environment
  • Spirituality
Within each of these elements is a subset of elements that make up the whole.
Health and Play
If we take health for example, there are so many other titles which could be used to contribute to the understanding of a whole person’s health. They will range from eating, exercising, hygiene through to attitude, work, stress and then onto special circumstances. There is physical health, mental health, emotional health.


It is my observation that as human beings we often comment on the need for relaxation and entertainment to enable health to be achieved. That is not to say that these things are the sole contributor, but rather an underpinning support essential to whatever treatment is being administered or whichever approach for preventative medicine is being undertaken.

So here, I have called these subset elements relaxation and entertainment. These are adult words for play. As you look into each of these Key Elements you will find that play in one form or another offers a positive contribution to the desired outcomes of that element.

Economy and Play
As an example if you look at economy there are countless stories from successful people about how they are being paid to do something they love. The movie awards are very public examples of that but they are not alone.  In many cases successful business people will recount how much they love doing what they do. To my mind this is a person at play.

Because we believe that play is essentially a 'waste of time' we will find it hard to discover a business person who will admit to playing for a living. Yet that element of enjoyment, invention and risk which accompanies successful enterprises is in itself playful and matches exactly the characteristics that we would list in children’s play.

Play is for Life
I am proposing therefore that play is with us throughout our entire lives. That its importance and influence on us is massive and indeed, that it is essential to the development and maturation of healthy human beings.




They say that humour heals, I would add that humour is healthy, yet would we allow ourselves to say that what makes us laugh is what happens when we play?

It is my intention to go through each of these key elements and create a layman’s eye view of how play can and often does, contribute to positive outcomes. I will write a blog for each area which demonstrates the underpinning nature of our need to play and what it brings.

Play; the lost element
For now, this blog is an introduction to a deeper enquiry. I have called it the lost element because for me its importance is suppressed within our society, yet we know as common folklore that this is an essential ingredient in life.

If you speak to almost anyone you will find that they do know that time off and time spent being engaged in interesting things (things which are playful) is good for us and that it helps us to be better people, happy people and healthier people.

I suggest throughout these blogs that for many reasons the suppression of play is historic being born of the necessity to build, conquer and rule empires. A very serious business. It is also natural to understand how the need to replace play as the main activity of a young person by the activity of work which necessitates serious and focused attention, can lead to the labelling of play as inappropriate or non-essential/frivolous behaviour.

That classification or demotion of play is, I suggest, throwing out the baby with the bathwater. Not allowing play to coexist and be recognised is like cutting off one hand and attempting to do the same job with what's left. Now, however, our society has the opportunity to acknowledge elements which in previous generations have been deemed to be unseemly or unacceptable.

Play at work
As an example, would you get told off for playing at work? The answer would undoubtedly be at least some disapproval if not it being a disciplinary issue.

Yet it is readily acknowledged throughout the world that the best things come from people who have invented new exciting solutions or products while they were engaged in doing something they cared about, were immersed in, and quite often were playing with!

Again, being immersed and fully engaged is a recognised condition whilst playing. I am therefore calling this blog post the lost element because I believe we do not recognise readily that play begins at birth and does not end until death. If you are happy and learning until the day you die we are commonly of the opinion that you will have lived a good life. It is natural if not obvious therefore that play which keeps us happy and learning is a key element in every area of life.

Play throughout our lives
It must be recognised at this stage that play evolves as we develop throughout our lives. For example, play when we are young involves a myriad of elements most of which we can see as activity or the resulting product. We must also be aware however that play in all its forms often has no result attached to it.  Experimenting is as natural to play as water is to a fish and so outcomes are not always achievable or even desired.  The process of play has its own value!
 As we grow play is expressed in teenagers via increased social engagement which to a degree, although the expression changes, stays with us throughout our lives. In our mature years play becomes our interests which are for some of us our work as well. The nature of the expression of play at this stage has changed in that it will be evidenced by useful products or perhaps profit generation or even the peak of a hobby being achieved.

Play can also be hidden. Play as outward humour is easy to spot but play as the engagement in an interest and the fulfilment that it brings is not  always an outward expression but can be an inner thoughtful or concentrated process, which incidentally is exactly how it is in children as well.

Below are the things that I believe support our key elements. Again, there are many factors that contribute to each one of these and I will mention some as we go through other blog posts.

Underpinning the Key Elements are:
  • Play
  • Infrastructure
  • Vision
  • Humane values (shared)
  • Collective values (shared personal) economic and spiritual diversification
Conclusion

Play is essential to the key elements of a successful society as it:
  • Enables understanding
  • Creates opportunity for progression
  • Enhances education
  • Enables social cohesion
  • Unlocks creativity in all spheres of human experience
  • Is ever present and possible
  • Enhances life experience, and progresses economy.
Play is not just about children it’s about humans being.


The Play Cycle: Observing & Understanding Play

In this post of the Parents 4 Play series we will introduce the play cycle and how observe children at play - a great tool for parents to find out about.
You can also read our other blog posts in this series:
The Importance of Play, Barriers to Play, The Play Cycle, My Sofa: Enabling Environments, Easy Rider: Risk and Play, Children and Schemas, The Super Powers of Loose Parts


It was a bright sunny day in a busy primary school playground. Parents were standing around waiting for their children to finish the day.  At 3.15 the school doors opened, and a mum went over greeted her son and then turned her attention to the teacher where a brief conversation took place.  After a short while the mum turned round to her son and gave him a small water bottle. 
The boy ran into the open playground with the bottle, brandishing it like a water pistol, whilst  scoping for someone to engage in his new game.  He caught and maintained eye contact with a young girl, from his class in the crowd of parents and children.  They both knew they had committed to playing something from this exchange. 

At this crucial point the girl turned, breaking eye contact and screamed…. The boy thought “she’s loving this” and he started to chase the girl around the playground for about a minute.  During this time the girl became increasingly distressed and eventually ended up on the class teacher's leg crying and panting quite obviously not enjoying the game she had just committed to. 
 
The teacher comforted the girl and the mum immediately took the water bottle from the boy (obviously infuriated with the incident) who received a ‘Why on earth did you do that?’ sort of lecture. The boys response….  “what did I do wrong?”    

Was the boy wrong in this situation?

Sometimes as adults, we can be quick to judge a situation, when perhaps not all is at seems. This situation is not as black and white as it first appears, analysing the incident using the Play Cycle could lead us to a different outcome... The Play Cycle is used by play professionals to observe and understand play.   

Play Drive  
All play begins with the play drive that is the instinctive desire and need to play: The child wanting to shoot someone with his water bottle on a hot day. 

Play Cue 
From this drive the child may produce an action which can be very subtle or very obvious: Creating eye contact with a girl to initiate a game of let me chase and shoot.  

Play Return  
The feedback a child receives from a play cue is called a play returnThe child maintaining eye contact then turning running away screaming. 

Play Flow 
This is established once the play has commenced, and is a continuation of cues and returns. It can last a few seconds or several weeks: Both children running around the playground in chase and shoot scenario. 

Play Frame  
The process of play is ‘contained’ by the play frame. The play frame can be a material boundary that keeps the play intact; the rules of the game or understanding between the participants. A frame can be many things – a table, a playground or something broader: The playground with lots of people/obstacles provided the ‘frame’ in this instance. 

Play Annihilation  
When the flow of play is terminated by children. This can be the end of the game or perhaps the destruction of a recently constructed model: The girl annihilated the play frame in this instance as she was clearly not enjoying the frame she had engaged in and was 
quite distressed.  

Play Adulteration  
If an adult intervenes and tries to lead or force it they will be denying the play drive purpose and adulterating the child play: The girl is comforted, water bottle is confiscated and boy is told off. 
 
So, let's give that question another thought: Was the boy wrong in this situation?
 
In this situation the boy had clearly misread the girls responses to this situation. He simply translated the girl's turning and screaming as a Play Return when in fact it couldn’t be further from the truth. He thought this because he couldn’t see her facial expression and so, in turn spectacularly misinterpreted the situation. Once the incident unfolded, the boy's response “What did I do wrong" was in this situation, very valid. In his perception he had not done anything wrong or untoward and thought he was responding playfully to the girl's play return. 

As playworkers we use the Play Cycle as part of our regular practice to help us understand play better to inform our interventions and ways to support it further. 
 “It is like describing a universal expressive language that children use when they play and as with all languages we can learn the simpler aspects quite easily but it takes time and practice to become fluent and really understand its meanings.” Oxfordshire County Council.  
Scrapstore Play Services offers a range of playwork training courses for early years practitioners, parents and lunchtime staff about play theory and understanding play
Phone us on 0117 9143002






USEFUL TIPS FOR PARENTS
Observing your children:
The next time your with child(ren) have a think about their behaviour and see if you can recognise the Play Cycle.
  • Is the positive or negative behaviour perhaps a cue from them to play
  • Do they get a return?
  • How do they deal with getting or not getting a return?
  • How long does the play go on for? Could you note this down as something that the child really likes to do?
  • Does annihilation happen? How quickly? Does there seem to be a reason?

Things for you to consider:
  • Are you always ready to return a play cue?
  • How can you extend your child's play when you don't have the capacity to return their play? Can you adjust their play in anyway so that they can carry on without you?
  • How does annihilation make you feel? Does that matter to your children? Can you change the way you react to annihilation so that you don't adulterate their play?
  • Can you recognise how often you adulterate play? Sometimes we have to, but can you think of way to do this without causing upset? The 'time at the bar please!' technique is a useful one - give your children a time warning for winding down their play.
FURTHER READING:
 
For further information about the Play Cycle please refer to: http://www.ludemos.co.uk/members1.htm 





Walking The Dog: Barriers to Children’s Play

In this post from of our Parents 4 Play series, we're discussing what the barriers to children's opportunities for play can be and whether we should be challenging these barriers with consideration of changes in lifestyle and social behaviours. 


When I was eight years old my parents moved from London to South Devon. I remember it being a big change in my life, the main one being having to leave my friends on the street with whom I played with most days….. riding our bikes in the street, playing knock out ginger or exploring the derelict house next door.  I don’t really remember any adults on the street apart from the ones that got cross because we had knocked on their doors and run away!
 
Image: Boys playing leapfrog in the street, London, England, 1953

When we arrived at our new house it was much bigger than our last one and had a massive garden but there were hardly any other children to play with.  I made friends with the boy next door, which was good but it wasn’t the same as my old life in London.  One really good thing about moving house though was having regular access to a large woodland and two small coves…. I could and did literally spend all day in the woods, in my free time by myself creating secret spaces tucked away that no one else knew about…. I would also be equally attracted to the small coves and could regularly be seen down there happily smashing rocks up with my geological hammer in the hope of finding a huge nodule of amethyst or rare volcanic glass – obsidian.  Before long it was like I had always lived there, London being a distant happy memory.

My parents still live in the same house now and I regularly visit them with my own children enjoying and sharing the sea, coves and woodland that I enjoyed.  

On a recent visit I was taking my parents dogs for their constitutional walk one afternoon.  As I was walking up from the cove, in the woodland I came across an eight year boy by himself who was quite happily playing. In the first instance my professional head questioned and scrutinised the situation…
Who is he here with? Why is he alone… has something happened? Is he ok, should I intervene in some way?

Then my rational head responded…
This is where I played when I was eight, by myself, all day at times.  I’m a playworker, I understand the importance and value of play as well of the benefits…. What’s changed?

But this situation felt different, almost kind of weird to me because I felt bad for even thinking something was wrong for a child to play alone in the woods by themselves….

I had been challenged against the very principles I advocate strongly for…. I stood for a moment contemplating all of this…. initially blaming fundamental society principles, then realised I was part of society now….. and then carried on with my walk leaving the boy to whatever he was doing. 


In this video children discuss what they like about play and some of the barriers that affect this




Should barriers to children’s play be challenged?

We believe that they should. Playwork Principle 4 states that “For playworkers, the play process takes precedence and playworkers act as advocates for play when dealing with adult led agendas.” Playwork Principles Scrutiny Group (2005)

Children today face many more barriers to playing out than in previous generations… consequently lots of things have changed for children’s play, having a direct impact on their development and well-being.

·         More traffic on the road
71% of adults played in the street or an area near their home when they were a child. This compares to only 21% of children today.
            Play Day Research (2007) Street Play Opinion Poll

·         Technology advances beyond the ZX81
British children are estimated to spend between five and six hours a day on screen-based entertainment. During this time they’re not engaging in the outdoor, loosely-supervised play that has been children’s birth right for millennia. So it’s not just too much screen-gazing that poses a danger to overall development, but the substitution of this junk play for real play with real people in the real world.
Palmer S (2003) Toxic Childhood
 
 
·         Parents increasing concerns about stranger danger
A BBC survey in Scotland which looked at public concerns…. Results showed that although child murders by strangers has shown no change in twenty years, 76% of parents believed that there had been an increase with 38% believing the increase had been dramatic.
Furedi F (2001) Paranoid Parenting  

·         Less spaces for children to play
For every acre of land given over to public playgrounds, over 80 acres are given over to golf.
Children’s Play Council (2004)  

·         Children leading more sedentary lifestyles creating various health concerns and epidemics
There is an obesity epidemic in young children and the main solution should be to ‘reduce television viewing’ and promote playing.
British Medical Journal (2001) 322:3 13-314 

·         Less free time for children to play from increased pressure to do well at school.
Professor Alexanders’ review of primary education (the largest in 40 years) revealed a worrying loss of childhood, from pressures to pass tests and league tables.
Alexander R (2008) Emerging perspectives on childhood

Playing helps children to explore and understand the world around them and is an integral factor in development and well-being. 

Scrapstore Play Services offers a range of playwork training courses for parents, early years practitioners and lunchtime staff about the importance of play for children .

Phone us on 0117 9143002

USEFUL TIPS FOR PARENTS:
  • Think of a memory of play that you enjoyed doing as a child
  • What key factors made that memory stand out
  • Imagine children doing that sort of play today - What’s different?
There are lots of things that you can do to make a difference and advocate for children’s rights to play. 
  • Give permission to play out on the street in your community: Playing Out is a not-for-profit information and advice resource for street play. We aim to increase children’s safe access to informal play in residential streets through: Directly supporting resident-led street play sessions; http://playingout.net/      
  • Encourage schools to open up their grounds out of hours: The play team at Children’s Scrapstore have been working with schools and early years settings delivering play training, research and consultancy since 2007. www.playpods.co.uk
  • Make the most of the local facilities via your local council: Bristol City Council have a useful website detailing the local facilities and play events happening in the city. http://www.goplacestoplay.org.uk/
  • Find out about campaigns and movements that support children’s rights to play: The National Trust have recently launched a campaign of 50 things to do before your 11 ¾.  https://www.50things.org.uk/
  • Love Outdoor Play is led by Play England and supported by the Free Time Consortium, a growing collective of local and specialist organisations working together to increase freedom to play.





















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