Residential Environment and Types of Childhood

Abstract

Children who are not enabled to play freely may suffer limitations in their physical, social and cognitive development. There is a danger that widespread play deprivation may lead to future generations of adults lacking essential social and personal skills. Recent German research identifies opportunities for children aged between 5 and 9 to begin experiencing independence as essential for healthy child development, and distinguishes between autonomous and heteronomous forms of childhood. The amount of time that children in this age group play outside without adult supervision was investigated and found to correlate with the quality of children's residential environments. The quality of the 'action space' available to children correlates with the economic and cultural resources of their families, so that children from socially and materially deprived homes have significantly less opportunity to develop their autonomy, through the 'latent curriculum' of free play, than children from more affluent homes: 'street childhood' has become a sign of wealth rather than poverty. Conventional playgrounds with limited, fixed installations lack scope for imaginative or creative play and fail to meet the requirements of quality play space for children. In contrast, action spaces designed with local children and which allow for creative play with natural materials are 50% cheaper to build than standard playgrounds. The need is asserted for children's policy to be embedded in housing, public space, traffic and urban design decisions, in order for the right to play to be effectively implemented. These developments are contrasted with the prevailing culture and controversies on child safety and freedom in the USA, and compared to current trends and debates in the UK on the changing nature of childhood, restricted play opportunities and child safety. The impact of UK law is considered as a key factor contributing to fear of allowing children to experience risk in play. Further research is proposed to investigate the potential for urban design to enable healthier city childhoods, the relevance of common law as distinct from civil law systems in impairing exercise of the right to play, and the impact of cultural patterns on children's opportunities to develop autonomy.

Influence of Neighborhood Built Environments on the Outdoor Free Play of Young Children: a Systematic, Mixed-Studies Review and Thematic Synthesis

“…However, Lester and Russell argue against the conceptualization of play as a set of activities that address adult concerns but rather for the creation of “health-enabling” spaces that provide opportunity, challenge, and inspiration for children to engage in free play in everyday settings [ 94 ]. Blinkert and Weaver suggest that adults’ role may be simply to protect children’s right to engage with local environments [ 95 ]. Practically, our findings suggest that urban design for children must move beyond providing play destinations and toward creating playable networks, affording young children access to experiences and opportunities for interacting with local nature, structures, and people.…”

Play in appropriate natural environments to support child development (Fomento del desarrollo infantil mediante el juego en entornos naturales apropiados)

“…Independent play increases children’s physical activity and thus supports their individual health (Carver et al, 2014). Also, autonomous activation, especially in a green area, can promote children’s social, cognitive and emotional development (Blinkert & Weaver, 2015; Carver et al, 2014; Raith & Lude, 2014). The contact with nature in childhood supports the development of children, such as attention restoration (Flade, 2018; Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995), concentration and achievement (Van den Berg & van den Berg, 2011; Wells, 2000; Williams et al, 2018), the development of motoric skills (Fjørtoft, 2004), the development of social skills (Beach, 2003; Grahn, Mårtensson, Lindblad, Nilsson, & Ekman, 1997) and the reduction of fear and stress (Tillmann, Tobin, Avison, & Gilliland, 2018; Wells & Evans, 2003).…”

“…El juego independiente aumenta la actividad física de los niños, y por tanto fomenta su salud individual (Carver et al, 2014). Asimismo, la activación autónoma, especialmente en zonas verdes, puede fomentar el desarrollo social, cognitivo y emocional de los niños (Blinkert & Weaver, 2015; Carver et al, 2014; Raith & Lude, 2014). El contacto con la naturaleza en la infancia fomenta el desarrollo de los niños, en aspectos como la restauración atencional (Flade, 2018; Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995), la concentración y el logro escolar (Van den Berg & van den Berg, 2011; Wells, 2000; Williams et al, 2018), el desarrollo de la motricidad (Fjørtoft, 2004) y las habilidades sociales (Beach, 2003; Grahn, Mårtensson, Lindblad, Nilsson, & Ekman, 1997), y la reducción del miedo y el estrés (Tillmann, Tobin, Avison, & Gilliland, 2018; Wells & Evans, 2003).…”

Fraught with frights or full of fun: perspectives of risky play among six-to-eight-year olds

“…Consequently, caregivers are transitioning from supervising the child to monitoring the child at a later stage than before (Bundy et al 2009;Brussoni et al 2015). Typically, this occurs between the ages of five and nine, where responsibility for risk appraisal is passed to the child, as they loosen ties from their caregiver and home environment (Blinkert and Weaver 2015). Similar to other countries, children in Ireland are less likely to play in their outdoor environments compared to children in years gone by, despite children's preferences to play outside (Kilkelly et al 2015).…”