Health and Physical Education Commons^™

Child Development Just Outside The Front Door: Neighbourhood Play Project, Hyahno Moser

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This project examines the nature of contemporary childhood with a focus on changing rates of play in Queensland’s urban neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood Play Project is a pilot project funded by the Queensland Government Department of Sport & Recreation. The purpose of the project was to examine and record the prevalence of local children’s existing play networks in urban Queensland neighbourhoods and to quantify their influence on children's physical activity and outdoor play levels. The recorded decline of Queensland children’s activity levels and physical literacy over the last 30 years – and its direct negative correlation with children’s increasing screen usage …

Animal-Assisted Play: A Strategy For Promoting Children’S Physical Activity Play, Jennifer A. Boisvert, W. Andrew Harrell

International Journal of Playwork Practice

This article explores how animal-assisted play might be used as a strategy in playwork to support children’s right to play, enrich their play experiences, encourage their physical activity play and better their health and life quality. Children’s interactions with pets or companion animals in free play or animal-assisted activities (AAA) can yield therapeutic benefits by increasing physical and mental health and well-being and also offer possibilities for more outdoor play, agency, risk-taking, fun and enjoyment, as well as high-quality play experiences. We invite playwork practitioners to consider the important role of animals in children’s lives and the potential value of …

A Curiosity About Links Between Adventure Playgrounds, Loose Parts, Playwork Approach, A State Of "Flow" And Children’S Wellbeing, Angus Ian Gorrie

International Journal of Playwork Practice

Over the past century there has been a documented rise in childhood anxiety and depression (Gray, 2011; Twenge, 2001). This increase largely correlates to the significant decrease in the amount of time children have to play freely (Gray, 2013). The suggested reason for this is a decrease in free time and play creating a strong external locus of control, the result of which has been shown to cause increases in childhood anxiety and depression (April, Dharani, & Peter, 2012; Gray, 2013). This paper records a practitioner’s musings on the links between aspects of playwork practice and children’s wellbeing. It considers …