The topic is too long so I posted it in the paper instructions

The Changing Nature of Children’s Play around the Globe
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From the scientific and systematic study of human social life, sociologist indicates that the early development is a very crucial stage in molding the future of a child. This is the stage both the physical, social and mental attributes are developed, and an alteration would mean either deterioration or normal advancement to adult stages. According to Kanieski (2007, pg. 272), there are two complementary but distinct ways of visualizing the child. The first is sociological and the other the physiological. He asserts that the successful study of a child requires a complete understanding of the locales where he grows up. It is possible that the environs and nature simply dictate their spontaneous development. One larger contributors of a child’s social, physical and moral stability is playing. The early stages of development from infancy when the child starts to walk to the teenage when they are about to break even to adulthood, is a time when they develop motor, sensory, perceptive and problem-solving skills (Copple, & Bredekamp, 2009, 7). Further, they assume social skills such as the growth of a sense of awareness. It is a time when the physical growth occurs. For so long, children have been engaging in playful activities at the backyard or within the neighborhood. This always happens when they have free time whether after school or on weekends. However, the culture is gradually caving in as the sites are no longer considered safe.

The cultural changes have seen the parents become overprotective and in most cases bar the children from being outdoors. This paper assesses the demise of backyard games and their effect especially to western countries and compares and discusses the changing nature of children’s play around the globe.
The play stage is the final phase of self-development. According to sociologist Herbert Mead, the sense of self of first developed via the social activities. This usually follows three major stages. The first is the preparatory phase where a child mocks the behaviors of others around them without an entire understanding of what is being imitated. The second is the play stage that occurs between the ages of two to six years. This is the beginning of role playing and adoption of certain figures in life. It is in this phase that the young start identifying their roles by associating themselves with people they like. It can be regarded as a stage when they start identifying talents and capabilities. After this, they enter the final stage where they learn to adopt specific roles in the game and what role the others take. This brings to a conclusion that the game stage is the ultimate phase of self-development. It is when the child learns attributes such as teamwork, following rules, role play, and social relationships as well as develops advanced motor skills (Sweat and Mead 2002, pg.2-3). Other skills the children learn from playing are cognitive skills such as problem-solving and math when they pretend to be in class or grocery store. They also acquire new vocabularies and literacy skills like creating patterns. Further, playing helps the children be healthy, reduces stress and also be able to learn the typical and socio-dramatic functional life. It goes hand in hand with learning as one acts as a compliment to the other. However, for the participant to gain maximum experience, this must be done outside the house and amongst children of different characters.
Over the last decade, the great backyard and neighborhood play sites have continued to diminish especially in the western nations (Roemmich et al. 2007, pg.3-5). Most of the children are entangled in the in the houses in the modern world, engaging in less physical movements. Many factors could have promoted the changes being experienced currently. The first is the introduction of newer technologies. The presence of alternative and more involving methods of passing time amongst the young is one major promoter of lack of outdoor activities. Currently, children have access to digital gadgets like tablets, Android phones, and computers. These are loaded with free games that consume much of the children’s time. The games can be played discretely or as a group making it as an alternative means of socializing amongst the young. At the same time, the online games are easier to learn as opposed to the outdoor ones (Cohen 2004, pg.25). According to the research conducted by UNICEF on global challenges and strategies on child safety online, there is an amassed number of children who can scarcely imagine life less of the social networking, real-time chatting, and online gaming. The report asserts that technology has exponentially generated a divide between the young and the parents, caregivers and teachers (Dijkstra 2009, pg. 303). The rift is stark in the industrialized countries and becoming a wider day in day out in the third world countries that have little access to such technology. Many parents in the developed countries are so consumed by work and businesses that they find a little time to cater for the children. According to the statistical report by 2014 global gaming stats, “over one-third of parents play games with their kids regularly and over half play at least once in a month.” Further, 16 % of the children play the online games with their parents, 40% with their friends, while about 34 % play with close family members. This study was conducted in the US, and it indicated that more than 89% of parents are involved in the purchase and playing this games with their kids (Galarneau 2016. Pg. 1-5). It means that they are no longer interested in allowing the children to play outside. Instead, many parents are the primary promoters of the demise of the backyard and neighborhood unstructured plays. According to Chudacoff (2007, pg. s5-10), a professor at the Brown University, highlights things, places and time as the three primary societal changes that have impacted children’s unstructured play. He asserts that the position changes shifts from casual, natural play areas to contrived playgrounds. Play within the home and adult directed activities. He further noted that the time devoted to children’s play has vacillated in America and other developed countries. Using Chudacoff’s criteria we can explain how these three social changes have contributed to the end of backyard play, shifts in leisure activities and how the changes are experienced across the globe.
Many western states have experienced vast changes in the settlement methods and living standards. In the first world countries like those in the US and England, many rural settlements have been transformed into urban or peri-urban models. This owes to the search for white color jobs and other urban-based conveniences like access to better schools, materials and business opportunities (Chaudry and Wimer 2016, pg. 23). As such, many of the spaces previously left for recreational purposes have been taken up for construction in a bid by the state to cater for increasing population day in day out. According to the statistical data comparison on grumps vs. UN for the year 2000, the population share in the major cities across the globe against that of the land in the urban area shows an absolute reduction in space. The leading countries in population like China, India and US indicate that there may even be no space left for backyard playgrounds. Further, the WUP trend patterns and forecast show that the percentage of total population living in the urban areas especially in the western nations is continuously increasing (Bloom et al. 2016, pg. 16). Most of this, however, occurs in Asia although some of the developing countries like Korea and Libya have experienced rapid increases in the fraction of the population living in the urban areas of late. Surprisingly, the countries with the fastest growing urban populations are not the developed but the developing like African and Asian sovereigns. This is bringing about changes in both culture and social set ups. With more people relocating to the urban centers, the space within the cities is reducing gradually. Houses are congested, and the number of children within a street cannot fit in the available open space. Then alternative to spending their leisure time has been to engage in other indoor activities like computer games, watching videos and visiting leisure parks. With increased inflow of children especially during weekends and holidays, the recreational parks can have invented methods to impede some of the children. This is by raising the entry fees and creating rotational programs where a group is allowed on the ground for some given time (Veitch et al. 2006, pg. 10). In some, the time spent depends on the amount paid and services requested for. This means a controlled form of play.
Parent control has played a significant role in the demise of the unstructured games. Currently, many parents are interested in technology with most of them being employed and living in the cities. However, not many can afford to rent apartments with back yards due to the high living standards, especially in the overpopulated western towns. As such, they opt to lock their kids indoors and have them engage in the alternative forms of leisure. The health standards and safety of the play sites in the streets and on back yards are some of the many worries these parents have (Valentine 1997, pg. 69). Many health informants warn parents about allowing their children to play outside unmanned. According to a publication by the Provincial Injury Program on back yard safety for children, it is reported that current unstructured playgrounds contain dangers from equipment, lawnmowers, poisonings and abductions (“Backyard Safety for Children” 2016, pg. 2-6). The report indicates that most common cause of unstructured playground deaths is strangulation, burns from outdoor grills and drowning. News from countries like Mexico, Afghanistan, China, Nigeria among others indicates that most child abductions happen on the streets. This occurs when the children are playing unattended. As such states like the US have issued directives for the establishment of playgrounds. According to the CSA (Canadian Standards Association), the voluntary playground standards for the outdoor public places requires that certified and experienced persons inspect equipment, be regularly maintained and all injuries are occurring on such sites be reported immediately (“Parachute – Preventing Injuries. Saving Lives.” 2016 pg. 1-2). This makes the parents more protective. According to Jeffrey (2014, pg. 2) “childhood today is more structured, more scripted, more sterile and presumably, safer.” The irony of the overprotective parents is becoming more real as children’s space is contracting and moving indoors. Jeffrey compares the 300 yards to the end of the street freedom of space accorded to the current child to that of an eight mile for the great grandfathers. This indicates the diminishing liberty and chance for the modern children to exercise. This is different from state to state with the developed countries having even lesser freedom. Children in poor African countries, whose population is still manageable and the cultural heritages remain intact, still, access the unstructured plays as are those living in the outskirts of cities in the developed countries. The world is perceived to be more dangerous by parents in first world countries, as opposed to the developing ones, hence influencing the amount of freedom the parents are willing to give their children. Although the rates of abduction, sexual abuse and murder in the US have declined by about 62 percent since the late 70s, the media has done so little to clear the air. The imaginative force is still driving many parents and in a way are structuring their kid’s social life (Lester and Russell 2008, pg. 1-3). The same parents who want the children to think independently, embrace technology and be healthier are the same who cannot let them out in fear of either losing them to the evil community, being injured or sick from the dusty environments. Overprotection of the children in the first world countries and amongst the affluent few in the developing countries has seen the parents seek schools with the supervised activities. They are invasive in all matters of the child. Ironically, the poor parents in African and Asian continents have little worry regarding their children playing outside. Rather, they give them ample time as this gives the parents freedom to indulge fully into their daily activities. The lack of unstructured play among the modern generation could be associated with a line of factors ranging from economic development, the surrounding the child is raised, policies in a country, safety, culture, and affluence amongst others. It varies from one family to the other and from state to state.
There is a well-accepted principle in early childhood education that they fully gain through free and unconstructed plays and discovery. The term free play is complicated but typically entails pleasure, self-motivation, active, spontaneous and less of adult-imposed rules. The quality gotten from such is the fine and gross motor, intellect, emotional growth, individual and social interactions. The demise of outdoor play has skyrocketed certain diseases like child obesity and diabetes. According to the report by CDC (Centers for Disease and Control Prevention), the percentage of with kids obesity has increased from 7% in the 1980s to over 20% today. These are children at the age set of 6-11 years. The report by Public Health England indicates that child obesity is prevalent in developed countries like Israel leading in obese boys and Luxembourg with obese girls (“Child Obesity International Comparisons Data Factsheet” 2016, pg. 2-4). This is associated with the lack of proper exercise especially due to limited space or changes in the children recreational activities. The evidence of the influence of back yard, playgrounds and parks on neighborhood activities among children is mixed. Bodrova (2008, pg. 12) asserts that access to this and other public recreational facilities are closely related to physical vigor. Children will always engage in unstructured “make-dos” in the absence of monitored play spaces. Further, there is little link between the provision of outdoor facilities and outdoor play. According to research by Valentine and McKendrick (1997 pg. 219), “children are likely to play outdoors or further away from home if there were adequate opportunities provided within the neighborhood.” This indicates that demise of the neighborhood unstructured play or backyard playgrounds is a factor of population, security, economic status as it is about parental control of the children.
The nature of children’s play around the globe will continue to deteriorate exponentially as long as the underscoring factors shall. The issues of economic variations, population increase, industrialization and migration to cities are the forefront in dictating the changes in children’s unstructured plays. It is evident that the developed countries have already consumed much of the spaces for such activities and hence the lives of the children have been consolidated indoors. What the parents should understand is the sociological impact this has on the present and future generations. According to French (2007 pg. 8), children absorb powerful messages from the surroundings and community regarding their social values, culture, self-identity and survival skills by participating in unstructured plays. There is also the development of a warm democratic interaction that challenges negative societal aspects like discrimination, respect, cognitive and emotional acknowledgment. It is up to the society to restructure the ‘make do’ play spaces for the current generation or risk losing the sociological merits of the future community. Then there shall be no structures for socializing, clearing discrimination and allowing the children to think for themselves to make future all-around leaders.
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