Free to Play their Way

Is there a shared understanding of play? Our members regularly explore the value of play for all tamariki and rangatahi (children and youth), but how do we define it? We would like to share what we, as Play Aotearoa (Te Rōpū Tākaro ki Aotearoa), mean by ‘play’. We are comfortable using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) Article 31 as a valuable guiding tool and to actively working to uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) with particular emphasis on manaakitanga (the process of showing respect and generosity) to inform the actions we take with and for tamariki and rangatahi (1). This blog post will explore some of the research on play and how adults’ well-meaning intentions may disrupt the kaupapa (purpose and intention) of Article 31. We welcome discussion on the topic as we explore ways of engaging more respectfully as kaitiaki (caretakers) of the child’s right to play.

In 2008, the International Play Association (IPA) explored the implementation of Article 31 worldwide. The purpose was to elaborate on the meaning of leisure, play, and recreation and to increase state accountability and compliance. The General Report on the project states that:

• ‘Leisure’ implies having the time and freedom to do as one pleases.
• ‘Recreational activities’ embraces the whole range of activities undertaken by choice for the purposes of pleasure.
• ‘Play’ includes activities of children that are not controlled by adults and that do not necessarily conform to any rules (2).

Prior to the consultations, IPA commissioned an authoritative paper to inform the discussions. The paper outlined an extensive body of research demonstrating the vital role of play in human development. It stated:

Play is about creating a world in which, for that moment, children are in control and can seek out uncertainty in order to triumph over it – or, if not, no matter, it is only a game. It is primarily behaviour for its own sake, for the pleasure and joy of being able to do it. Children’s play belongs to children; adults should not destroy children’s own places for play through insensitive planning or the pursuit of other adult agendas, or by creating places and programmes that segregate children and control their play (3).

Play and the disposition of playfulness are necessary for optimal physical and emotional well-being. It enlivens the mauri (vital essence, life principle), mana atuatanga (uniqueness, spiritual connectedness), and rangatiratanga (sovereignty, autonomy) of tamariki providing them with tools of resiliency. In his research on the benefits of play, Dr. Stuart Brown found that he could identify “the active presence of play in the accomplishments of the very successful… and the negative consequences that inevitably accumulate in a play-deprived life (4).” He noted that if the objective of play was more important than the act of doing it, then it’s probably not play.

Dr. Michael Patte discusses the many barriers now in place that prevent children from accessing conditions, resources, and playthings in their everyday lives (5). He argues that children’s lives – their schooling, sports, and home activities – now involve more adult controlled, or ‘structured play’, where goals are set leaving little opportunity for ‘unstructured play’ led by children with no set outcomes.

Dr. Peter Gray uses the term ‘free play’ to demand attention to the lack of time, conditions, and freedom for play in the current ‘schooled’ life of children in the USA.  He remains critical of the ways educators and teachers in the USA have prioritised standardisation and testing, thereby depriving children of play. “One of the crucial defining characteristics of play is that it is directed by the children or players themselves. It’s self-directed. Adult-directed games like sports or activities in school where a teacher is telling children what to do is not play by my definition (6).” New Zealand researchers acknowledge a similar trend of the loss of children’s access to play freely in outdoor spaces in Aotearoa (7).

The conditions for play – environment, time, space, and cultural relational opportunities – should operate in ways that invite intrinsically motivated, self-chosen play without needing an end product. We all have the responsibility to ensure that conditions are as favourable as possible and are flexibly aligned with the diverse capabilities of tamariki while honouring Indigeneous and other cultural ways of knowing, being, and doing that are relevant to that whenua. Adults can serve as role models by validating and fostering auahatanga. This is a continual practice of respecting each child’s right and responsibility to have opinions and ideas and to create and face challenges. With this in mind, how can we, as adults, engage as curious learners alongside the players as they enact their opinions and ideas and confront the associated risks and rewards?

Dr. Mariana Souto-Manning advises that we must reject the view that play is a privilege, but is instead a right of each and every child (8). As adults committed to advocating for and facilitating access to play, it is our responsibility to challenge views and practices that lead to standardised, adult-constructed offerings. As we become expert observers and listeners alongside tamariki and recognise how they engage in play in their day-to-day lives, we must work to protect and promote environments and conditions that empower nga tamariki of Aotearoa New Zealand to be free to play their way.

1. Article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) creates a specific right for all children to have rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to their age, and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. Te Tiriti o Waitangi (The Treaty of Waitangi) is the founding document of Aotearoa New Zealand; an agreement, in Māori and English, that was made between the British Crown and about 540 Māori rangatira (chiefs). The three principles of Te Tiriti are: partnership, protection, and participation
2. United Nations. (2013). General comment No. 17 on the right of the child to rest, leisure, play, recreational activities, cultural life and the arts (art. 31). (pp. 5-6). https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/docs/GC/CRC-C-GC-17_en.doc 
3. Lester, S. & Russell, W. (2010). Children’s right to play: An examination of the importance of play in the lives of children worldwide. (p. x). ISBN 978-0-9549164-5-9.
4. Brown, S. The Practice of Play with Dr. Stuart Brown. University of Minnesota. https://www.takingcharge.csh.umn.edu/practice-play-dr-stuart-brown
5. Patte, M. (2015). The decline of unstructured play. The Genius of Play. https://thegeniusofplay.org/genius/expert-advice/articles/the-decline-of-unstructured-play.aspx#.YswIVy8RqgQ
6. Gray, P. (2014). Give childhood back to children: if we want our offspring to have happy, productive and moral lives, we must allow more time for play, not less. Independent. https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/give-childhood-back-to-children-if-we-want-our-offspring-to-have-happy-productive-and-moral-lives-we-must-allow-more-time-for-play-not-less-are-you-listening-gove-9054433.html
7. Walters, S. R., et al. (2018). ‘Real Play Families’: a New Zealand case study, International Journal of Play, 7:1, 97-114. DOI: 10.1080/21594937.2018.1436674. Walters et al. explored the barriers and motivators for ‘real play’ faced by families and children when access was provided to traditional, unstructured, and largely unsupervised ‘real play’ practices in the modern family environment in New Zealand. Children’s views of play included the view of play as fun, freedom from adult control, the opportunity to take risks, freedom to make mistakes and to learn strategies for engaging outdoors.
8. Souto-Manning, M.  (2017). Is play a privilege or a right? And what’s our responsibility? On the role of play for equity in early childhood education. Early Child Development and Care. 187: 5-6, 787, DOI: 10.1080/03004430.2016.1266588.
   1. Privilege(n): An immunity or benefit enjoyed only by a person beyond the advantage of most.
   2. Right(n). That which is due to anyone by just claims, legal guarantees, or moral principles.
   3. Responsibility (n) Being answerable or accountable for something within one’s power, control, or management.

• Auahatanga: creativeness, creativity; creative process
• Kaitiaki: trustee, minder, guard, custodian, guardian, caregiver, keeper, steward
• Kaupapa: topic, policy, matter for discussion, plan, purpose, scheme, proposal, agenda, subject, programme, theme, issue, initiative
• Manaakitanga: hospitality, kindness, generosity, support – the process of showing respect, generosity and care for others
• Mana: prestige, authority, control, power, influence, status, spiritual power, charisma
• Mana atuatanga: uniqueness, spiritual connectedness
• Manawa reka: interest, curiosity, attention, fascination, appeal, attraction
• Mauri: life principle, life force, vital essence, special nature, a material symbol of a life principle, source of emotions – the essential quality and vitality of a being or entity
• Rangatahi: youth, younger generation
• Rangatiratanga: kingdom, realm, sovereignty, principality, self-determination, self-management