Playday

Playday is the national day for play in the UK, a celebration of children’s right to play and a campaign that highlights the importance of play in children’s lives. For more information on the UK Playday campaign visit www.playday.org.uk.

Playday 2011

Uk Playday in was held on Wednesday the 3rd of August 2011. MAP ran Midlothian’s Playday at Vogrie Country Park in Gorebridge. It was attended by 800 children and 400 adults, who took part in fun free-play activities.

Midlothian’s Playday included opportunity for children to make up their own games and build dens and obstacle courses using everything from tyres and cones to large cardboard boxes and tarpaulin. It also included lots of play with nature such as sand, water and fire, natural art and pretend potion making with herbs – various children were turned into frogs or made invisible! The event also featured face painting, sports and games, dressing up clothes, bouncy castles, train rides and pond-dipping. Midlothian Library Services provided Bookbug sessions and Home Link provided Play@Home sessions.

This year’s UK Playday research found that 7 out of 10 parents feel that taking their children to an outside space to play is a real treat and children feel the same – 59% wish they could play outside in natural places more. The research also found that:

• 32% of children today have never climbed a tree
• A quarter of children today have never had the simple pleasure of rolling down a hill
• 47% of adults built dens every week as a child, yet 29% of today’s children say they have never built a den at all
• One in ten children have never ridden a bike

Playday 2010

Every year Playday has a theme, to highlight various aspects of children’s play. The 2010 theme was Our place and celebrations took place on the 4th of August 2010. Our place put children at the heart of our communities, and asked everyone, young and old, to help create better places for all of us to live and play. To find out more about the national Playday campaign, visit www.playday.org.uk

MAP organised Midlothian Playday. Holiday clubs from throughout Midlothian came to play and families visiting Vogrie joined in. From organised workshops including drumming and pond dipping, to making up their own games and building dens and obstacle courses using everything from tyres and cones to large cardboard boxes and tarpaulin, there were smiles and laughter all round. The event also featured face painting, dressing up clothes, messy play, a sand pit, water fights, an inflatable slide, train rides and fire bowls for toasting marshmallows.

At the Midlothian Playday, the Children’s Parliament charity used fun and creative ways to ask children about play in their neighbourhoods in Midlothian. Most children felt there are good places to play in Midlothian. However, one concern children expressed is that play spaces should be near to their homes as they can’t travel independently to access bigger play areas in nearby towns. Their preference is for small, simple, well-maintained resources in their locales. MAP intends to use the consultation results to support future project development.

‘Make better quality equipment – things are breaking!’ (child)

‘I play in my garden – I’m not allowed in the street to play. Sometimes my mum drives me to the park but there are no parks nearby.’ (girl, 8)