Fewer children in the North East are playing out on their streets, according to new research that is warning over the negative impact this could have on young people’s wellbeing.
A survey by Save the Children and a range of play organisations found that 62% of adults said they regularly played on their street as a child but this falls to just 27% of children now. Of the North East children questioned by the survey, 46% said they played in their street as much as they would like but 41% said they would like to do it more and 20% didn’t do so at all.
Children report being told to stop making noise, playing ball games and climbing trees, while parents say they fear irritating neighbours if their children play outside. A third of children said it was their parents’ fears that restricted them from playing near their homes, but they also cited stranger danger, traffic, lack of space in which to play and intolerant neighbours.
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The survey results have been released to coincide with National Play Day, which encourages businesses, councils and charities to pledge their support for more play opportunities for families, particularly for families struggling with the cost of living crisis. Major companies such as Kingsmill and Amazon are backing the campaign.
Anita Grant, chair of Play England, said: “The relationship between adventurous play and mental health is stronger for children growing up in lower income families. This suggests that adventurous play might be more beneficial for these children and will increase resilience and improved well being. So it is more important than ever that we keep our focus on play and specifically adventurous outdoor play.
“It’s time to join us and sign up to #summerofplay supporting the next generation to recover, re-engage and rejoice by playing their way into their futures with courage and excitement.”
Dan Paskins, director of UK Impact at Save the Children, said: “We’re delighted to support Summer of Play for a second year. As the report shows, too many children are restricted in their play and there are always ways of making play fun, imaginative and creative for low or no cost.”
The survey was supported by Play England, Play Scotland, Play Wales, Play Northern Ireland with Save The Children. Campaigners and child development experts are now calling for children across the UK to enjoy fun, friends and freedom this summer with the launch of the Summer of Play campaign.
Save the Children is running a play scheme in Wallsend open to children of all backgrounds to provide. Save the Children UK CEO Gwen Hines visited the scheme last week.
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