We are, it seems, in the midst of a severe global playtime drought.
A 2016 study showed that the average child in the UK spent less
time outside than a maximum security prisoner. One-in-nine
children hasn’t set foot in a park in at least a year, and a third
have never played in mud. In general, kids spend less than half
the time their parents did outdoors, and when they do escape, it’s
to closely supervised playgrounds where the range of imaginative
play is severely constrained. In developing nations, the problem
is even worse. Underfunded schools rely almost exclusively on
rote-learning, while impoverished communities lack the space and
time for children to explore, play and be themselves.
For Marcus Veerman, founder and CEO of not-for-profit Playground
Ideas, the evaporation of playtime is more than just a question
of parenting philosophy – it’s an issue with profound, lifelong
ramifications. “The research is clear: for every dollar we spend on play
provision for children below school age, society receives an eight-
dollar return.” Apparently, early play interventions improve children’s
social skills, self-control and problem-solving abilities, leading to a
44 per cent rise in high-school graduations; a 42 per cent rise in yearly
earnings; and a significant reduction in family breakdown.
Playground Ideas is Marcus’s contribution to the power of play – an
online resource centre offering blueprints, information and on-the-
ground assistance to people trying to construct playgrounds in some
of the world’s most impoverished areas. The idea grew out of timespent on the remote Thai-Burma border in 2007, where he ended
up building 40 playgrounds in two years. “There was this endless
desire from the local community to improve their schools,” he says.
“Teachers aren’t stupid. They know that rote-learning doesn’t work,
because you’re stopping the child from doing what they naturally
want to do at that age: learn through play.”
The focus of Marcus’s playgrounds is imaginative play. “Most
playgrounds are devoted to physical and sports play, but if you’re
missing that extra imaginary element, you’re missing out on all
the social and brain development that free-form play can provide.”
This means playgrounds built from recycled and familiar materials;
spaces that reflect the local community, but can also be altered by
the kids using it. Think rocks, car tyres, rolls of carpet, computer
keyboards, rope and long planks of wood. “Stuff like that is genius for
kids, because they can build cubbies or cars or sit around and have a
picnic. That act of creation is so powerful in developing kids’ brains.”So far, Playground Ideas has helped build more than 2000
playgrounds, servicing one million children in places as diverse
as Cambodia, Guatemala, India, Ghana and Kazakhstan. There’s
no single formula for these setups – each one is dictated by the
resources the communities have on hand, as well as the kids’
background and location. “I remember one playground we made for
the cancer ward of a Philippines hospital. It had slides and a cubby
house, but also a makeshift doctor’s surgery and pharmacy, because
that’s what these kids needed in order to explore their lives.”Ultimately, play cuts to the core of what it means to be a child.
“We think of schools as being solely dedicated to the provision of
information,” Marcus says, “but that feels so limited. I think if we could
expand our thinking to bring in some of the lessons of the playground,
it wouldn’t just be good for kids in the long run – it would elevate
childhood to a whole new level.”...................
Playground Ideas was a community finalist in the 2018 frankie
Good Stuff awards.
playground ideas
MARCUS VEERMAN IS ON A MISSION
TO PROVE THAT CHILD’S PLAY IS THE
MOST SERIOUS BUSINESS.
Wor d s Luke Ryanour project