16. ‘We Stayed Home and Found New Ways to Play’

Abstract

In 2020 the familiar, everyday routines of people's lives were turned upside-down, seemingly overnight, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept around the globe. Schools and businesses closed and holidays were spent at home under lockdown, with 'stay-at-home' restrictions significantly affecting the way children could play. In response to the upheaval in children's lives, the Pandemic Play Project began. An independent, online research study using a folkloristic approach, the project aimed to document the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the play lives of Australian children. Key findings from the project relate to the important role of adults in helping children stay playful during lockdown, children's creativity, imagination and resourcefulness in their play, and how traditional forms of play were adapted to accommodate and incorporate personal experiences, fears and social changes associated with the pandemic, particularly in the digital world which became a lifeline for many children during the lockdowns. Opportunities for play depended on where children lived and their ability to access resources. Children with backyards played outside and built cubbies but for families shut in cramped high-rise public housing, with no access to outdoor playing spaces, lockdown was a nightmare. This chapter describes some of the ways children were able to remain playful during the long months of lockdown and the determination of adults to support their well-being through play