#playshapes children into the adults they become

To celebrate a child’s right to play on the 30th Anniversary of the Convention on Children’s Rights, we have asked some EU decision makers the question: how did play shape you? The array of answers we have got back shows the many different ways in which play shapes children into the adults they become.

Follow us on Twitter to find out what they told us when we post their answers in the run up to Universal Children’s Day next week. In case you don’t have Twitter, you will also be able to see the full gallery of responses we have received here on this website from 20 November onward.

Why are we celebrating?

A child’s right to play is enshrined in Article 31 of the UN Convention on Children’s Rights, which will celebrate its 30th Anniversary this year. As well as benefiting children’s health and well being, play helps children to develop the skills they will need to navigate the adult world.

Although the majority of people recognise the positive benefits of play, there are still a number of barriers that prevent children from enjoy this right to the full. This includes factors such as: inadequate play spaces; cuts in public funding; changes in the school system; increasing homework; concerns about accidents, strangers and traffic, and a false perception that play is frivolous.

With the #playshapes message, we want to remind people just how important it is to make sure that children have the time, space and permission to play – and highlight that playing as a child has a lasting positive impact throughout a person’s life.

Does this message sound familiar?

You might recognise our #playshapes message. We ran our first awareness campaign around #playshapes back in 2016 – take a look here to find out more.