Outdoor play
What lockdown has taught us about public playgrounds Mark Hardy, chair of the Association of Play Industries, explores why public playgrounds are so crucial in helping children recover from the effects of months of lockdown and the importance of playgrounds being adequately funded going forward The months when lockdown was at its strictest in the UK sparked a renewed appreciation of shared public spaces and a realisation that public playgrounds, parks and outdoor play areas are vital to the nation’s health. Up and down the UK, parents wanted to know when their children could play outside in their local playgrounds again. As other European countries addressed the issue early on and included them in their roadmaps out of lockdown, British parents were left wondering when and how community playgrounds would reopen. With children’s need for play airbrushed out of the government’s plans as they eased lockdown restrictions, the API wrote an open letter to the Prime Minister urging him to set out when and how public playgrounds would be brought back into use. With one in eight UK households without a garden, millions of children had all but been under house arrest for months, with potentially catastrophic effects on their physical and mental health. Playgrounds in decline The API also asked the government to pledge a new funding stream specifically for public outdoor play and activity provision. Public play provision has suffered years of chronic under-funding, with the number of playground closures going into freefall. There is increasing evidence that local authority budgets for public playgrounds will be slashed even further in the coming weeks and months. Children’s outdoor play is essential for their normal development
and without significant investment in playgrounds, many children will not have outdoor play spaces to mitigate the impact that lockdown has had upon them.
yet more hardship particularly to those in the most disadvantaged areas and the millions of households without little or no outside space. Research by Sport England found that just one in five children under-16 have been Playgrounds and childhood doing the recommended hour or more a obesity day during lockdown. And with excessive An API survey of 1,100 parents through snacking and increased screen dependency, Mumsnet showed that 72 per fears that lockdown will have cent of parents of children exacerbated the obesity with health issues such crisis seem well-founded. Leadin as obesity said that Playgrounds provide the lack of outdoor vital opportunities c h i l d re g n’s play facilities in for children to get organis their area has outdoors and a t i o u n nited in s a re played a role in active to burn off war nin t h e e ff their children’s excess calories. g e o c f ts of lo on chil problems and ckdow dren’s 90 per cent of Playgrounds n m b e e n i tal wel n g, with parents without a and mental lre p o r t s an ups local playground health o u f r g e said that having Leading children’s i n m health access would make organisations are difficul ental ties their child play united in warning of outside more. the effects of lockdown The Prime Minister has on children’s mental declared a ‘much more well-being, with reports interventionist’ approach to of an upsurge in mental health obesity in the fight against coronavirus. difficulties. The full effect remains to be With evidence that obesity exacerbates seen, but the months spent alone, indoors, Covid-19 symptoms, the need to address sedentary and screen-dependent will have the already burgeoning inactivity epidemic consequences. becomes even more urgent. The day-to-day lives of children and families Active kids become active adults have been hugely impacted by lockdown and It’s during outdoor play that children interact further playground closures would deliver with their peers, negotiate, make up the E
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