In early society, girls were restricted from play. They were restricted inside homes. But, now it is considered that Play is fundamental to children’s happiness and well-being, and the evidence shows that it is also influential in their health and processes of future life developments.
If children are restricted from play there are likely to be profound effects on their life experience in general and more specifically on their physical and mental health. For example, obesity, rickets and attention deficit disorder are just some of the growing problems experienced by children that health experts have recently linked to a lack of particular forms of play.
Children’s activity levels are related to gender, family patterns and outdoor play. It is reported that boys are more active than girls. Children whose parents participate in physical activity with them are more active and children who spend more time in outdoor play spaces are more active.
Latest researches have shown that boys tend to play further away from home with friends, while girls tend to play closer to home, often with family members. Both genders preferred unmanaged spaces for engaging in active play, rather than structured activities.
Parents also have a strong influence on their children’s activity levels. If parents understand the importance of physical activity to their children’s health and are involved with their children in some physical activity, this not only encourages their children to be more active but can also enhance parent–child communication and social interactions among family members.
Despite evidence documenting the value of neighborhood play, children’s presence in public space seems to have declined dramatically in recent decades.
It is reported that public spaces in many countries of the world has come to be recognised as adult spaces. High profile cases about child abduction or ‘out of control’ young people have led to ‘moral panic’, responded to by keeping children away from the public realm or restricting them from going out.
Some researchers blame the media’s sensationalism of rare murder and abduction cases, which distract attention away from realistic threats, such as poverty.
Restrictions on Play- Some Gender Issues
