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CHAPTER FIVE: PLAY AND LEISURE
Introduction
5.1 Play is fundamental to the successful physical and emotional development of every child - encouraging creativity, teaching children to learn about risk and raising self-confidence. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child states that parties must:
"Recognise the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activities. "
5.2 The most popular leisure activities reported by children in the study are going to the park, swimming and playing football. Out of all of these, children reported that they most enjoy going to the park.
Play and leisure needs
5.3 The majority of both adults and children report that they need local parks that they can walk to and that children can, at an appropriate age, go to without adult supervision.
One child's drawing of a trip to the park (caption written by an adult on the child's behalf)
5.4 They need clean, safe parks where they feel secure. They also need parks that have play equipment that meets the needs of children of different ages so that the whole family can enjoy it.
5.5 Children say that they need parks that have lots of play equipment but also, space. The following are examples of typical comments:
"I like climbing the monkey bars"
"My park needs more swings, not just baby swings"
"The more stuff in them the better they are"
"I want grass to run on"
"A park should be bigger for running about"
"(More) butterflies and trees"
"Parks are fun but I want more chutes"
"The climbing frame is too big and mummy has to help me off it"
5.6 During the research with children we showed them a picture of a park and asked them what they thought about it. We called it "Charlie's park". They immediately noticed that there was no climbing frame and thought that this was "a bad thing for Charlie". They liked the trees in Charlie's Park.
5.7 Some children with additional support needs require access to facilitated play with trained playwork staff and specialised equipment to meet their play aspirations and particular need. Some mainstream play areas are accessible and have equipment that they can use but this is not universal. There are examples of specialised playgrounds and supported play for example Scotland Yard Adventure Centre in Edinburgh and play support funded by Fife Council.
5.8 Swimming was the most commonly cited leisure activity reported by children and adults in the study. Adults frequently expressed the view that families with children need locally available, clean and affordable swimming pools.
One girl's drawing of a trip to the swimming pool (caption written by an adult on the child's behalf)
5.9 One group of parents said that swimming pools should have an adequate supply of family changing rooms in an area where only adults with children can enter so that people who do not need family changing cannot use them.
5.10 It was occasionally mentioned that in all public facilities, there should be baby changing facilities that can be used by men and women. There is acknowledgment that this is getting better but is still not universal.
Existing play and leisure
5.11 Whilst children said that the park is their favourite place, they commonly said that they were dirty or messy. Examples of their comments include:
"The park would be better if people tidied up a bit."
"Some parks are horrible with dirty things"
"It's really scary at night"
5.12 Almost all parents were quite critical of parks and we heard a lot of reports of broken glass, litter, used condoms, vandalism and young people urinating on play equipment.
5.13 Children want parks to be safe and usually do feel safe in them. When they don't feel safe, it is most often because there are teenagers there. This is echoed by parents and carers, the majority of whom suggested that there should be play areas that are closed at night and dedicated youth areas for older children to congregate. Parents also suggested that park wardens would help to keep parks clean, safe and reduce what they perceive as anti-social behaviour displayed by some young people.
5.14 Comments that illustrate what children want in their parks are:
"I would like more space to run"
"The pond is a bit boring. It would be better if there were more ducks, swans and other things"
"More paths and hills for mountain biking"
One child's drawing of their ideal park
5.15 Swimming is often something that the whole family enjoy doing together. Children were generally positive about swimming pools but parents and carers raised a number of issues. A significant proportion reported that accessing swimming in their area was difficult for two reasons. Firstly, people living in rural areas have to travel significant distances to get to swimming pools and secondly, public transport is not always easy to use or family friendly. In towns and cities, the number of public pools has been declining and parents and carers said that in some areas, the only local pool is in a private club which is very expensive and some do not welcome children.
5.16 Another issue is where, for health and safety reasons, there is a limit on the adult to child ratio for younger children which means that one parent on their own cannot take two young children swimming. This can make it impossible for lone parents to take their children to a pool. Parents and carers suggested that there could be sessions with a higher ratio of pool staff to allow an adult to take more than one child.
5.17 A sizeable proportion of parents and carers in the study said that the cost of entry to public swimming can make it difficult for them to go as frequently as they and their children would like. This is compounded by transport costs. Some parents and carers said that there is free swimming in holiday periods in public pools which they think is a very good thing.
5.18 There was general consensus amongst the adults in the study that public pools and in particular, changing areas are not clean.
5.19 We explored other leisure and cultural facilities with children. We were not able to explore this in great depth but they did talk about museums and castles very positively. An example that one group gave was that they like Kelvingrove Gallery and Museum (in Glasgow) with one child commenting "it is my favourite place."
5.20 The positive things they said about it are:
"There are challenges"
"Computers help you"
"We saw a DVD at the end".
5.21 This shows the importance of interactive activities in museums in engaging children.
5.22 Many parents and carers who are at home with their children during the week do not have access to cars and so rely on the facilities and activities being within walking distance or being easily accessible by public transport. A significant amount of adults in the study who are in this situation find that, on the whole, public transport is not easy to use with prams and pushchairs. They said that getting to country parks can be difficult and for those living rurally, the lack of public transport can lead to feelings of isolation. It can also be difficult for parents to get in to the town or city centre if they live in suburban areas.
5.23 There are a wide range of classes, clubs and activities for children and these are considered to be very important. However, adults in the study commonly held the view that there should be more organised activities for children aged below 5, for example a greater number of gym tots, swimming and mini kickers classes because there can often be long waiting lists.
Gaps and issues with play and leisure
5.24 Parents, carers and children identified the following gaps and issues with play and leisure facilities and opportunities:
- Lack of structured activities for under-5s because the majority of classes are for older children;
- A one stop point of information of what is available in the local area, not just information on what the council provides;
- Locally available, good quality, clean, safe play areas with varied equipment;
- Parks with trees, wildlife and free space for children to run. These need to be locally available;
- Good, family friendly, affordable transport links for example in rural areas and to facilities eg swimming pools, museums and country parks;
- Places for teenagers to go to encourage them away from play parks;
- More parks that are closed at night and have wardens during the day; and
- More organised clubs and activities for children aged below 5.
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