Are children playing less than they used to? Are rising obesity
rates linked to a decline in children's time to play freely? These
and other related questions have filled the pages of newspapers,
magazines and scholarly journals for the past decade. Researchers
and journalists have attributed these issues to societal changes
around children's lives and leisure, the growth of structured and
organised activities and increasing perceptions of risk in
children's play. Play, Physical Activity and Public Health presents
a discussion of the way modern notions of play are rendering
children's leisure activities less free and less engaged in simply
for fun. Based on original qualitative research, and analysis of
contemporary media from Canada and elsewhere, this book argues that
the growing health concerns around childhood play entail a paradox:
by advocating, promoting, discussing, and re-directing children's
play, a new form of children's leisure is emerging - one that is
purpose-driven, instrumentalised for health, and ultimately, less
free. We explore how play has become goal-oriented, a means to
health ends, and how the management of pleasure in play as well as
diverse risk discourses around play continue to limit and constrain
possibilities for children and families to play and engage in
leisure freely. Incorporating past critiques of this trend in play,
we argue for research and practice to create new possibilities and
ways of thinking about children's play, leisure, fun and childhood,
that are less constrained and managed, and importantly less geared
towards health goals. This is a valuable resource for students of
the sociology of sport, kinesiology, sports and health psychology,
education, public health, and childhood studies. It is also an
important read for school teachers, public health practitioners,
psychologists, physical education teachers, academics and parents
interested in how children's leisure lives are being shaped by the
growing and diverse discussions around play.
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