ABSTRACT

Children of all ages, as seen in the chapters of this book,

whatever their background, culture, religion or gender,

pursue and enjoy opportunities to play imaginatively,

creatively and independently. Play can serve many im-

portant purposes, can be both directed and undirected

and is an essential part of child development and social interaction – ‘Oh, we’re just playing’. With increasing parental anxiety about the safety of our children playing

outside the home, in a world that may appear more dan-

gerous than ever before, many young people are denied

the freedom they need to simply ‘go out and play’ with

their friends. Indeed the first of several inquiries to be

published in 2008 by

the Children’s Society,

The Good Childhood

Inquiry has already

found parents regularly

deny their children the

same freedom to go out

unsupervised that they

had when they themselves were growing up.