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National Trust calls for action on children and nature
The National Trust this morning announced a two-month inquiry into children’s relationship with nature. Launching the inquiry with the publication of a report written by leading naturalist and...
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It’s health and safety gone sane!
I see what you did there. So I take it you are not about to share another crazy story about kids being wrapped in cotton wool. Indeed not. Today is a good day for getting rid of the white fluffy stuff....
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Inspiration from Copenhagen
How does Denmark’s capital city meet its children’s need for outdoor play – and what can other nations learn from its approach? For a well-researched, gloriously detailed, beautifully presented answer,...
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How child-friendly is Moscow?
On my visit to Moscow last week, I witnessed an intriguing sight as I was crossing a bridge near the city centre. A little girl and her mother were walking towards me. As they went past, the girl...
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German children enjoy far more everyday freedom than their English peers
New research from the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) shows that only a quarter of English primary school children are allowed to walk to school alone – yet in Germany, three quarters are. It is easy to...
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The sorry state of neighbourhood design in America: a mother writes
After my last blog post about German children having more everyday freedom than their English peers, Andrea – a German-born woman who now lives in the USA – got in touch to leave a comment. She had...
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Fighting cuts to play services: information is power
You may have heard about the battle for Battersea Park Adventure Playground, whose closure was the prompt for an occupation from activists linked to the global Occupy movement. But it is not the only...
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A broken limb, the Health and Safety Executive, and a good outcome
The Health and Safety Executive – the nation’s safety regulator – is so often the fall guy for everything that is wrong about the way risk is managed. But last week I heard an anecdote that brought...
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Are child-friendly city approaches being used to push out poor families?
Rotterdam is one the few big cities that has taken seriously the goal of becoming more child-friendly. Its ambitious planning policies have been debated in the National Assembly for Wales (see this web...
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The wobbly bridge revisited, or the problem with playground standards
In my last post, I used the example of a wobbly bridge to highlight why it is hard to manage risk in play spaces. I promised to say more about the role of equipment standards in managing risk, and why...
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“Those rocks in that well are too dangerous.”
Here in Australia, I recently visited Bubup Nairm, City of Port Phillip’s newest family and children’s centre. Opened in April this year, it brings together a range of childcare, health and family...
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In praise of the emerging Aussie free range childhood movement
I have been mulling over the series of events that I took part in whilst over here in Australia. What strikes me is the level of commitment, energy, enthusiasm, activity and progress that I have seen...
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Think the Scandinavians have succeeded in reconnecting children with nature?...
Earlier this month I went to Denmark to give a speech at the Nordic Adventure conference, whose theme was reconnecting children with nature. It was not my first visit to the region. I can clearly...
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Chief Medical Officer prescribes play and risk as well as pills
The call by Professor Dame Sally Davies, the Government’s top health advisor, for children to be given vitamin pills has kick-started another lively debate about the health of our nation’s children...
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Child-on-child sexual violence: are the media – and the Children’s...
Yesterday’s Daily Telegraph ran a story with a headline that was disturbing by any measure. It read “‘Chilling’ levels of child-on-child rape in Middle England.” The story takes its cue from the launch...
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Is 'annoyance and nuisance' enough to get a criminal record?
Reblogged from Love Outdoor Play: So when you were 10, 12, 15, could you be 'annoying'? Could you be a 'nuisance'? I interviewed my grandmother recently about what she did as a young girl. She is now...
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Play services decimated by cuts
Public play facilities have suffered huge cuts in the last 3 years. New data shows that spending by English local authorities fell by nearly 40 per cent between 2010 and 2013. Revenue spending has been...
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Help build the policy case for play
Playday, Bristol City Council This post asks for your help in building the case for play. I am writing a report – aimed at Government – that gathers together evidence for the difference that play...
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Building the case for play: help me fill the gaps
First, I would like to thank everyone who has responded so far to my appeal last month for evidence to build the policy case for play. The material I have received has almost without exception fitted...
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Evidence is vital in making the case for play
Yesterday brought more news of a looming public health crisis. Over one in three English adults has pre-diabetes (blood glucose levels that place them at significant risk of full-blown type 2 diabetes)...
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