ABSTRACT
In 1956, in a classic paper, G. Bateson pointed out that play was a form of meta-communication. Yet psychologists have tended not to acknowledge fully the historical and cultural influences on play research. Aristotle was writing about the origins of comedy rather than the origins of play. Johann Pestalozzi even went so far as to exclude play altogether from the child's education : The important thing in good upbringing is that a child should be well prepared for his own circle; he must learn to know and to do the things that will bring him bread to still his hunger and peace to content his heart. Charles Dickens was impressed by Froebel's schools, but in the kindergarten play was still educational and children were not that free, as Montessori noted. The adventure playground has been an interesting extension of the playground. Play centres, playgrounds and adventure playgrounds were all spaces in which the child could be free within certain limits.
