Why play is a basic human right of all children

Today’s life pressures are so great that play time is one of the most ignored privileges of a child, and yet the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises “the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities”.

This year, with the theme ‘Play is a Right!’, there is a big focus on the fact that child’s play is just as much a human right as equality or freedom. And although the theme changes annually, the ultimate aim remains the same – for children to let go of the stresses of daily life and play... freely, fairly and safely.

But why is it important? Well, when a child is at play:

• They connect, collaborate, negotiate and learn to communicate
  
• They create explore, invent and learn to dream
  
• They experiment, follow, lead, learn to reason and make their own decisions
  
• They read, write, count, measure and learn to stimulate their minds
  
• They feel, laugh, relax and learn emotional strength
  
• They hop, skip, jump, run and develop coordination skills, encouraging active lifestyles and healthy bodies

Vanessa Mentor, an Early Childhood Development expert at Afrika Tikkun says, “In short, play at an early age sees young children learn to engage with the world around them and interact with the people in their lives. It allows them to develop new competencies, overcome fears and increase their levels of confidence. Play is of the utmost importance for a developing child – we need to prioritise play and really demonstrate its importance to childhood learning.”

Mentor comments on Afrika Tikkuns World Play Day plans, “Each year Afrika Tikkun organises a special World Play Day programme for all the young people of our five Centres of Excellence across the country. For May 28th, we have coordinated a fun day that focuses on all areas of the 2019 theme – ‘right to connect, right to explore, right to move, right to have fun, right to be creative, right to participate’ – with a programme including scavenger hunts, creative activity stations, group games, science experiments, music, movement and more.”

Regardless of how you decide to celebrate World Play Day, what is important is that everyone has fun and that we help raise awareness about the importance of play for children.