Creating Tools to Increase Play Opportunities for Children and Families
By: Claudine Champion, former Knowledge Mobilization Specialist, Centre for Healthy Communities
November 19, 2021
Claudine is a former Knowledge Mobilization Specialist with the Centre for Healthy Communities. She graduated from the 黑料不打烊 with a degree in Kinesiology and a Master’s in Health Messaging. She has previously worked for 黑料不打烊 Health Services in the area of Mental Health and Addictions, the Government of 黑料不打烊 in Physical Activity and Recreation, and the 黑料不打烊 for the and the Centre for Healthy Communities. During her time with the Centre for Healthy Communities she helped develop the Mobile Adventure Playground and Play Declaration tools. Claudine is passionate about knowledge mobilization and health communication.
Think back to those exciting times during your childhood that involved free play. Did this involve creative play inside like dress up or imaginative play? Or were you outside with friends exploring the natural world around you? What memories stick out?
These memories reinforce that a child’s life is a life of play. Children not only WANT to play, it’s essential to their health and development. In fact, play is so important, it’s actually included in the . Play encourages creativity, social skills, resilience, and increased physical activity – all crucial building blocks for healthy childhood development and lifelong wellbeing.
Two ways you can increase access to play in your community are by creating a local Play Declaration and a Mobile Adventure Playground. We know that access to safe, outdoor, child-led play opportunities are not equal. These initiatives can provide safe and diverse play opportunities to all children regardless of where they live, their age and skills, and the socioeconomic background of their families.
Play Declarations
A Play Declaration is a formal, signed commitment for communities or municipalities to share a vision for play. This commitment is created and supported by organizations within the community or municipality. Play Declarations can have a national scope (for example, Canada has recently released their ; , and have also created Play Declarations). Play Declarations can also be local in scope, and be championed by organizations (as was the case for the ) and/or by a municipality (as was the case for the ).
Mobile Adventure Playgrounds
Adventure Playgrounds have been around for over 70 years and are permanent or fixed play spaces specifically for child-led play. A Mobile Adventure Playground is similar to adventure playgrounds however the key difference is they are designed to move from place to place throughout a community. They are dynamic outdoor spaces that contain a variety of materials and loose parts – e.g., wood, tires, tape, rope, fabric, and cardboard.
New Tools to Help Get Communities Started in Supporting Children’s Play
The Centre for Healthy Communities (CHC) has been working in partnership with and the Government of 黑料不打烊. Through this multi-year partnership, a series of tools to support children’s play in communities across 黑料不打烊 and Canada have been created. In 2019, the CHC created two detailed ‘How to Guides’ for practitioners.
Building on feedback from stakeholders about the how-to guides, the CHC developed shorter tools aimed specifically at decision-makers and elected officials.
These tools highlight the current research on play, the benefits of increased play opportunities, the ‘value on investment’ that a focus on play can have, and also showcase successful 黑料不打烊 case studies.
To supplement, the above tools a aimed at practitioners was developed to highlight the importance of play, provide details on starting either a Mobile Adventure Playground or Play Declaration, and how to get ‘buy-in’ from decision-makers.
Check out these tools and share within your networks to increase opportunities for 黑料不打烊n children and families to play!