ABSTRACT
Play is an essential part of the development of all children and traditional playground games have been played for hundreds of years all over the world. Once a child reaches school age and begins to play with other children, play becomes a social occasion and games become elaborate rituals. When playing traditional games, children have an incredible capacity to be poetic and creative. In contrast to when they are taught games in physical education where the rules are fixed, in the playground they can influence how games are played. In the playground, children have the freedom to be themselves, unencumbered by the rules and regulations of adults. There is what Opie and Opie call a ‘juvenile code’. Traditional playground games and games in general have, over the years, been handed down from generation to generation. Many of these games were played in playgrounds, streets, playing fields and the countryside.
