Introduction
The child’s right to play, leisure and recreation is set out in article 31 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC). While the Consultations described in this document acknowledged the importance, and overlap, of each of these elements, an emphasis was placed on the right to play as it is one of the least known, least understood, least recognised rights of children and consequently one of the most consistently ignored, undervalued and violated of children’s rights in the world today.
Early in 2008 the International Play Association: Promoting the Child’s Right to Play (IPA) entered a partnership with seven other international organisations to propose that the UNCRC organise a Day of Discussion and/or develop a General Comment on article 31 for the purpose of elaborating on its meaning and increasing state accountability with regard to compliance. The supporting organisations (now eight) are:
- ChildWatch International
- European Child Friendly Cities Network
- International Council on Children’s Play
- International Paediatrics Association
- International Toy Library Association
- Right to Play International
- World Leisure Association
- World Organisation for Early Childhood Education (OMEP).
In order to maintain the momentum and to gather material worldwide IPA and its partners organised the Global Consultations on Children’s Right to Play.
Three specific objectives were set:
- To mobilise a worldwide network of article 31 advocates and to harness expertise to raise awareness of the importance of play in the lives of children.
- To gather specific material demonstrating the infringement of the child’s right to play.
- To formulate practical recommendations for governments with regard to compliance with article 31.
Working with regional and national partners, IPA identified eight Consultation sites worldwide: Bangkok, Beirut, Johannesburg,Mexico City, Mumbai, Nairobi, Sofia and Tokyo. Following a careful planning and preparation process, consultations were held in these cities between January and June 2010.
Read the Global Consultation SUMMARY REPORT | FULL REPORT now available in the MEMBERS’ AREA
The UN Convention on the Rights of the child is an international treaty that sets out universally accepted rights for children. It is a benchmark against which a nation’s treatment of its children can be measured. It brings together in one comprehensive code the benefits and protection for children hitherto scattered in a variety of other agreements, including the Declaration of the Rights of the Child adopted in 1959.
The Convention was officially approved by the United Nations in 1989 and has been ratified by almost every country in the world. Ratification of the Convention is a commitment by “States Parties” to comply with the articles of the Convention and thereby to protect and enhance the basic rights of children through their policies, programs and services.
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This remarkably comprehensive treaty not only incorporates current thinking with regard to children’s rights but also demands that the world think more deeply about children’s position as citizens and more broadly about their development than has commonly been the case. It asks that we look holistically at children’s lives and hear their own perspectives on issues affecting them.
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As a result it is leading many nations to address elements of children’s lives that have hitherto been ignored but that represent our fundamental humanity. One of these – at the heart of children’s lives everywhere – is the right to play.
Full text of the Convention (click)
“That every child has the right to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
That member governments shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.”
Article 31 encompasses a range of concepts that carry different meanings. These are the child’s right to rest, leisure, play and recreational activities and to participate in cultural and artistic life. The unifying concept is ‘not working’. However, while each of these is important in children’s lives, “play” stands apart from them in a number of ways. Play is a mode of being rather than an activity and is neither time nor space bound. It is interwoven into children’s everyday lives.
The UNCRC Handbook (2007) describes play as possibly “the most interesting (of the group of concepts) in terms of childhood in that it includes activities of children which are not controlled by adults”. Free play is of particular interest to IPA because of its importance in children’s lives and because it is the component of article 31 least understood and appreciated.
Unstructured or ‘Free Play’- a definition
In spite of the complexity and diversity of play behaviour, there is general agreement by specialists in the field that play is controlled by children rather than adults, and that it is undertaken for its own sake and not for prescribed purposes. The term “free play” is often used to distinguish this from organized recreational and learning activities, which of course also have important roles in child development. However, the characteristics of free play – such as control, uncertainty, flexibility, novelty, non-productivity – are what produce a high degree of pleasure and, simultaneously, the incentive to continue to play. Recent neurological research indicates that this type of behaviour plays a significant role in the development of the brain’s structure and chemistry. Emerging research suggests that child-controlled play may in fact represent a vital evolved behaviour that is necessary for optimal physical and emotional functioning.
The Importance of Play – and of Understanding Play
While the original intention for the inclusion of article 31 is understood to have been rooted in concern for working children, the International Play Association (instrumental in the inclusion of the word ‘play’ in the UNCRC) has always held a much broader view; recognizing the full range of benefits of play for all children worldwide. Research has established that play contributes to brain development, creates flexibility, enhances creativity, and builds resilience to stress. The connection between play and children’s well-being has been made with some authority by numerous researchers. Ultimately the opposite of play is not work, it is no play. And no play can be devastating for children.
“In supporting children’s right to play, attention must be paid not simply to the external expressions of play, but to the conditions in which ‘playfulness’ thrives.” Importance of Play, Concept Paper.
One of the greatest strengths of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is that all articles of the Convention are inter-related and indivisible. Articles other than 31 have direct implications for children’s play. For example, article 3 states that, in all actions concerning children, the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration; article 12 gives the child the right to express his/her views freely and have them considered.
The Convention also states that education should be directed to a broad range of developmental areas, including the child’s personality, talents, and mental and physical abilities (article 29). Play and recreation activities can play a significant role in fulfilling the child’s right to “the highest attainable standard of health” and to “preventive health care”, as set out in article 24. Article 23 gives children with disabilities the right to recreation and the fullest possible social integration and individual development.
Article 30 states that children of ethno-cultural minorities, or of indigenous origin, have the right to enjoy their own culture, which would include their own forms of play/recreation. Play and recreation also has relevance to article 19 (violence against children) in that they have both preventive and therapeutic values and help build resilience. Adults have a responsibility to ensure that children have safe environments and materials for their leisure activities. These are just a few examples of the relevance of the Convention to children’s play.
Advocacy action by nations throughout the world in relation to the implementation of the Convention has influenced the way we see and the way we think about children. We are beginning to think not in terms of human needs, or areas of development, but in terms of the obligation to respond to the rights of individuals. Children are people. Play opportunities are a right not a charity.
