Unfortunately, children who grow up in cities lack the necessary environment for informal games. All children from both the urban and rural areas need to play for their normal development. This involves physical, social, intellectual, and emotional aspects. Examining the term “play”, the meaning we get is informal games not the properly organized ones, such as soccer, netball, volleyball, hockey among others.
Play also helps in civil and social development, which in turn leads to democracy. Children tend to become creative when given a chance to choose to play what they want. In this respect, they come up with new games. During adolescence, they learn to accommodate one another since they are able to understand their friends through socialization.
The plays ought to be voluntary because they can also help in nurturing a child’s talent and creativity. When children engage in their own play, they tend to experiment, explore and expand their social world. It would also be noteworthy that parents and guardians do not constantly intervene in children games.
However, they need to represent ethical role models. They should also provide the necessary conditions for their children to play comfortably. Since parents are not always available, controlling agents should be hired to regulate the children’s game and avoid the risky ones.
Parents need to understand their children and know the games they love most. This can help in creating more effective playgrounds. The government and other sponsors should consult both children and their parents before establishing playgrounds in the cities.
Recreational resources should cater for all citizens. A common belief exists that playfields are established to cater for the idlers in the cities. This belief should be ruined, and all citizens must be considered while setting up play areas for children. Girls also tend to be excluded when establishing and setting up these play fields. This is so because the girls are meant to have several responsibilities back home.
These include looking after their younger siblings, cooking, and maintaining the house. Therefore, the girls have no time to engage in plays. However, girls should not be excluded on this basis. They also need to develop physically, intellectually, and emotionally. The government and the responsible authorizes must also consider the children who call for unique needs.
They also need to be engaged in informal games. Resources should be provided to create supportive playgrounds for the physically challenged children. They should not be provided only with wheelchairs, because they need to mingle with other children as well.
Play spaces should not be privatized entirely as this leads to inequality in provision of these services. Private spaces fail to cater for the poor and middle income families who cannot afford them. Challenges should be removed from play environments. Many children may be injured while playing, that is why it is necessary to improve designs of play environments.
They should be designed in such a way to minimize risks of children’s injury. Playground safety must be a main matter of concern, which should not be maintained at the expense of getting rid of the challenging and attractive equipment. Adults also need to watch and take care of their kids, so that they do not engage in dangerous activities.
Children must be trained to be responsible by managing their own safety. NGOs can also be helpful since they can influence the government to engage in children-friendly-movements. They can also use children rights to advocate for safe playgrounds. These places should be located near residential areas as children like to play with their friends, family, and relatives.