Press Release

New figures for Playday 2008 reveal children deprived of adventurous play

4 August 2008

Figures released today for Playday 2008 show that children are facing serious restrictions to their opportunities for adventurous play. An ICM survey commissioned by Play England for Playday shows that half of children (51%) aged 7-12 years are not allowed to climb a tree without adult supervision and half (49%) also report that they have been stopped from climbing trees because it was considered to be too dangerous.

The research also finds a change in the places where children and young people today experience adventurous and challenging play. As children, 70% of adults enjoyed most of their adventures in natural outdoor environments. This compares with only 29% of children today as both the space and the freedom to roam has dramatically declined in recent years. Today, children’s experiences of adventure are confined to designated areas such as playgrounds (56%), their homes (48%) or theme parks (44%).

Playday, this year supported by Persil, is the annual celebration of children’s right to play and takes place on Wednesday 6 August 2008. This year’s theme – Give us a go! calls for a rethink of  our risk-averse culture of banning conkers in the playground and outlawing tree climbing. The campaign highlights the need for children to experience risky and challenging play in order to ensure they are able to manage risk in their daily lives.

‘Playing is an essential part of growing up,’ said Adrian Voce, Director of Play England. ‘Starting from their earliest play experiences, children both need and want to push their boundaries in order to explore their limits and develop their abilities. Children would never learn to walk, climb stairs or ride a bicycle unless they were strongly motivated to respond to challenges – but we must accept that these things inevitably involve an element risk.

‘Adventurous play that both challenges and excites children helps instil critical life skills. Constantly wrapping children in cotton wool can leave them ill equipped to deal with stressful or challenging situations they might encounter later in life.’

Hundreds of fantastic events will be taking place across the UK to celebrate Playday. In honour of this year’s theme, local communities will be organising adventurous play opportunities, such as go-kart building, assault courses and tree climbing.

To mark Playday, Play England has published a body of research, which looks at benefits and challenges of enabling children to manage their own risks whilst playing.

Play England will also publish top tips to help inspire children to engage in adventurous play outside their home and within their community.

This year Playday is pleased to announce that Persil is supporting the campaign as part of their Every Child Has The Right campaign.