The report revealed:
• 92% of parents believe that imaginary play is important but 16% don’t know how to create it with their child
• Only 32% of kids still play with household items, but 70% play on video games while nine in ten watch DVDs
• 30% of parents ‘feel under pressure to be fun’
• One in seven parents say they ‘don’t know what they’re doing when they are playing with their kids’
• There were signs that a new generation of parents who themselves had not been allowed to play unsupervised in parks or woods were now bringing up children without vital experiences to draw upon.
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| Play to Learn: Developing the FUNdamental physical skills of children in Wales |
Sport Wales agrees that physical play and playing outdoors are essential ingredients to a child’s overall health and wellbeing and in developing the FUNdamental physical skills to take part in physical activity lifelong.
Unfortunately parent’s cautiousness in terms of the health and safety of their children whilst playing freely outdoors can fuel inactivity, which often results in more sedentary options such as playing on computer games or watching DVDs. This fear, coupled with parents lacking in confidence in how to play with their children, is a growing concern.
We feel that there is a real opportunity for parents to engage with their children through our initiative Play to Learn for 3-7 years olds. The resource was created by Sport Wales in 2010 to support practitioners and is rolling out across all schools in Wales. It is also available online and seeks to equip parents with lots of ideas to engage in play and support the development of their children’s physical skills such as throwing, catching and hopping – and most importantly having fun!
Initial responses indicate a positive response to the website and the Play to Learn concept by parents revealing increased levels of family engagement, ideas being developed through stories and potential lifestyle changes due to families being more active together.
Visit our Play to Learn site to join in on the action!
