ABSTRACT
Children are losing opportunities to play physically, as some schools cut back on play time, designated play areas become building sites, and parents are under the impression that supervised outside play is dangerous. Instead, children are offered the temptation of bedrooms equipped with all the devices needed to live in a virtual world. Schools were seen as providing the best local service, and greater parental involvement in school life could bring more positive experiences of education for the children. It was also suggested that schools could give more emphasis to 'life-skills'. Developing emotional competence—learning to regulate one's emotions, behaviours, and attention, and social competence—learning to relate well to other children and forming friendships—partly depends on two aspects of the child's upbringing. Working for childhood enables people to find the buried roots of childhood optimism and hope in themselves, and draws the best out of us.
