Right to Play

Option Overload

Have you ever been so amped on so many different things you just didn’t know where to start?

That’s how I’m feelin’ lately. I get to do so much browsing and explore so many different things with my job I just keep finding things I want to impact! There is a lot of sketchy stuff going on out there that I was not aware of. It was kinda starting to get me down. But then I finally came across something that made me say to myself “heck ya!”

Fact Finding

I stumbled across some information on the rights of the children of the world. The leaders of the world had one of their big meeting and adopted the UN Convention on the Rights of Children. All the countries of the world picked a day to focus on the wellbeing of children. Canada chose November 20^th as National Child Day because it celebrates the day both the Declaration on the Rights of the Child (1959) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) were adopted [important stuff worthy of attention for sure].

All these declarations and conventions got me thinking. Once you turn 18 you’re an “adult” - you can vote and have a say. What about the 17 years prior to that?… The docs recognize basic human rights and protection from harm, rights to education, health care, freedom from exploitation, and the list goes on. I immediately considered myself lucky that I grew up in Canada where the rights of children are taken very seriously. However as the world gets smaller because of technology one basic right of children is being lost. The Right to Play!

The Simple Things

When I think about myself and kids in general I think about being overcome with joy by running, climbing, hiding, catching and jumping, simple things. Do me a quick favor – use your imagination [remember that thing, we used to play pretend with it back in the day haha]. Or think back to you and a group of friends played touch football or kickball at recess. [My friends and I would do our own version of yoga in the field haha].

Where is Play Hiding?

 It’s sad to think of children who can’t afford a ball to kick around. Even worse is the thought of kids who have no idea what it’s like to kick a soccer ball except through their Wii character [I love Wii just as much as the next person, but that thought is just sad].

There are a lot of reasons the basic act of playing is becoming scarce. Everything from expensive sport program fees that some families can’t afford. To easier options like remotes and controllers that mean kids don’t have to move to “play” a sport. Then there is fear. In today’s society, parents are afraid of “what’s out there”.  While the world can be dangerous, most of the time it’s just full of adventure! There are parks, fields, nature, friends and possibilities.

If I wouldn’t have played outside as much as I did when I was a kid I don’t know if I would care so deeply for the environment. When you live in isolation from something your connection to it is nonexistent so why care about it? [Side note: I think with all the problems with the environment we need people to care!]

If I would have had video games full of fantasy and imagination, I would never have had to use my own.  I don’t think I would be nearly as creative as I am today [this is just me, not saying I NEVER played a video game I just know I played a lot more with sticks and whatever I could pretend with].

As per usual I have filled you in about all the negative and now I will dazzle you with all the potential to make a positive impact on play [it’s a good system..get you all worked up wondering what can I do? Well… read on my friends]!

There are a lot of reasons to encourage play, one being; when you play more often than not, you are being physically active.  As you know, that is what I am all about. If you’ve read a couple of my blogs you’ll notice I’m big on making the connections. Nothing stands alone and physical activity is connected in one way or another to a lot!

My Why

The video that really inspired me write this blog is a Master Card commercial [you know those priceless ads get you every time]. This one is not just cute though, the message is really powerful.

Master Card teamed up with Roots and Right to Play (you can catch the ad at any of these sites) to send a powerful message around universal need for children to be able to play. Right to Play operates in 23 countries, supported by a team of top athletes from over 40 countries! Children all around the world deal with adversity every day.  By being given the opportunity to play kids can gain self esteem and a sense of belonging. With the influence of positive role models kids have the opportunity to grow up with similar positive values. The message is: When children play, the world wins. Through Sport and play kids learn important life skills such as teamwork, co-operation and fairness.

Free Range Kids

There are tons of barriers to play these days. Parents feel like they need to protect their kids, which is good, but a little freedom to explore and play goes a long way! There is an awesome book called Free Range Kids that suggests safety without a security detail [I didn’t read the book but got my version of cliffs notes from checking out their website]. Lenore, the author of the book, talks about instilling kids with values like self reliance and exploration. They aren’t promoting irresponsibility or letting kids wander in dangerous areas. Think about our parents playing blocks away from home and running around in nature. You don’t see that a lot anymore. Exploration leads to creativity and questions. It’s good to want to know things about the world beyond the hard drive.

For me I know that most of the good qualities I have I learned from some sort of play. I learned about fairness, teamwork, respect, and met a lot of my greatest friends playing sports. I learned how to appreciate and handle success and my fair share of failure [some close seconds and some 0 / 16 season haha]. I love to just play to this day! When I was little I would climb trees and dance around the yard to classic 90’s songs like “Hammer Time”! I don’t think I’ll ever grow out of the desire to explore. I want to see jungles in Thailand and deserts in Egypt. I’ll never be too old to play! As a matter of fact I better go practice my mini stick skills, Christmas is coming and it’s on when the fam gets together!

What’s your favorite way to play? Let me know in the comments, maybe it’s something I’ve forgotten all about…

I’ll leave you with this. Later! Kenji.

“When we come together to play and we are truly ourselves. When we are truly ourselves it is wonderful and when we act collectively in that wonder we do transformative work for our community and our world.”

                -Brad Colby