Journal of Planning and Architecture. Photon 106(2014)130-138

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Review Paper. ISJN: 3715-7618: Impact Index: 3.54

Journal of Planning and Architecture Photon

Future of children‟s play in cities in India

K.D.Bhonsle*

V.S.Adane* India Article history: Received: 24 May, 2014

Accepted: 27 May, 2014

Available online: 22 Nov, 2014

Keywords: Child development, children‟s rights, play, playable spaces

under threat

Author: K.D.Bhonsle

Corresponding Author: V.S.Adane

Abstract India has 440 million children that are more than the entire population of North America [USA, Mexico and Canada put together]. Every fifth child in the world is Indian. And what sort of life do these children have as they grow up? With the growing urbanization and traffic on roads, we find children almost restricted to a few forms of play in limited settings in cities. The Constitution of India upholds the rights of all citizens in unequivocal terms and children are no exception to this. Children’s welfare in the last 60 years has been

inextricably woven into women’s welfare and women’s social condition; to an extent, children’s welfare has been subsumed under the composite concept ‘women-and children’. In India where the problems of children are as varied as ranging from health to education to abuse to labor etc., moving the concern now towards children’s most basic right and opportunity to play in cities although seems too unimportant but children’s play provision in cities can help in their education, health and overall development as well. This paper discusses the issues in children’s play in cities which if attended properly can bring in a great change in our future i.e. our children. Citation: Bhonsle K.D., Adane V.S., 2014. Future of children‟s play in

cities in India. Journal of Planning and Architecture Photon

106,130-138

All Rights Reserved with Photon.

Photon Ignitor: ISJN37157618D710222112014

1. Introduction –

Children are designed, by natural selection, to play.

Wherever children are free to play, they do.

Worldwide, and over the course of history, most

such play has occurred outdoors with other children.

The extraordinary human propensity to play in

childhood, and the value of it, manifests itself most

clearly in hunter-gatherer cultures. Anthropologists

and other observers have regularly reported that

children in such cultures play and explore freely,

essentially from dawn to dusk, every day even in

their teen years and by doing so they acquire the

skills and attitudes required for successful

adulthood.

1.1 Children in

India –

Child population

encompasses that

proportion of the

total population of

the country which

lies in the age

group of 0-6 yrs

which is an

important indicator

since it overlooks a

delicate segment of the population. India is the

second most populous country in the world where

Figure 1- Children’s play

13.12% of her population lies in the tender age

bracket of 0-6 yrs as per the provisional census

2011 figures.

As per available data there has been a gradual

decline in the share of population in the age group

0-14 from 41.2 to 38.1 per cent during 1971 to 1981

and 36.3 to 30.9 percent during 1991 to 2010,

whereas, the proportion of economically active

population (15-59 years) has increased from 53.4 to

56.3 percent during 1971 to 1981 and 57.7 to 61.6

per cent during 1991 to 2010. On account of better

education, health facilities and increase in life

expectancy, the percentage of elderly population

(60+) has gone up from 5.3 to 5.7 percent and 6.0 to

7.5 percent respectively during the periods under

reference. (Census of India, 2011).

India has 440 million children that are more than

the entire population of North America [USA,

Mexico and Canada put together]. Every fifth child

in the world is Indian.

And what sort of life do these children have as they

grow up? Well they face some of the toughest

challenges of anyone.

1.2 Legal Provisions for Child Development in

India -

The Constitution of India upholds the rights of all

citizens in unequivocal terms and children are no

exception to this. Important provisions related to

children in the Constitution include Principles of

Social Justice, Equality and Dignity (Preamble),

Right of Equality (Article 14), Prohibition of

Discrimination (Article 15(1), Protection of Life

and Personal Liberty (Article (21), Right to Free

and Compulsory Education (Article 21A),

Prohibition of Child Labour (Article 24), Policies

to be followed by the State (Article 39), Provisions

of Early Childhood Care and Education (Article

45), The Principle of Non discrimination (Article

2), The Principles of the Best Interest of the Child

(Article 3), The Principle of Survival and

Development (Article 6), The Principle of Child

Participation (Article 12), The Principle of

Protection from Abuse and Neglect (Article 19).

The state shall protect the child from all forms of

maltreatment by parents or others responsible for

the care of the child and establish appropriate social

programmes for the prevention of the abuse and the

treatment of the victims. (ACHR India children‟s

report, 2003)

1.3 Policies for child development in India -

1] National Policy for Children, 1974

An Advisory and Drafting Committee to review the

National Policy has been set up to focus on the

current priorities with respect to child rights.

Figure 2- Pie diagram of age structure in India

30.9

61.6

7.55

Agewise distribution of population in India

0-14 YRS

15-59 YRS

60+

65+

33%

32%

35%

% Distribution of Children Population by broad age groups in India

0-4 YRS.

5-9 YRS

10-14 YRS

Figure 3- Pie diagram of % of children in various age groups

Figure 4-Child playing on slide in a park

2] National Charter for Children, 2004

The National Charter for Children was adopted on

Feb 9, 2004 and promotes highest standards of

health and nutrition, provides for free and

compulsory education and protects children from

economic exploitation.

3] National Plan of Action, 2005

The NPAC envisages a Plan for collective

commitment and action by government in

partnership with communities, children, and civil

society and has set some time‐bound targets for

basic sanitation, child marriages, disability due to

polio etc.

4] 11th Five Year Plan (2007‐12)

Pursuing its thrusts of inclusion, protection, health

and education, the 11th Five Year plan lays down

the following specific targets with respect to

children.

5] National Policy for Persons With Disabilities,

2006

With respect to children with disabilities (CWD),

this policy looks at right to care, protection,

security, development, opportunities, access to

education, health, recognition of special needs etc.

6] Policy Framework for Children and AIDS in

India, 2007

This policy seeks to integrate services for children

with existing development and poverty reduction

programmes.

7] Draft National Tribal Policy, 2006, National

Rehabilitation and Resettlement Policy, 2007 and

National Urban Housing and Habitat Policy, 2007 -

These policies have sought to look at the specific

impact of homelessness, displacement and land

alienation of tribal communities on children.

8] National Child Labour Policy was adopted in

1987 - Following the Child Labour (Prohibition and

Regulation) Act, 1986 The Ministry of Labour and

Employment has been implementing the national

policy through the establishment of National Child

Labour Projects (NCLPs) for the rehabilitation of

child workers since 1988.

9] The National Policy on Education (NEP) is a

policy formulated by the Government of India to

promote education amongst India's people. The

policy covers elementary education to colleges in

both rural and urban India. The first NEP was

promulgated in 1968 by the government of Prime

Minister Indira Gandhi, and the second by Prime

Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1986. (Health bridge

report. 2012)

1.4 National Legislations for children’s rights in

India -

The Child Labor (Prohibition and Regulation)

Act, 1986, The Factories Act, 1948, The Mines Act,

1952, The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection) of

Children Act,2000, The Minimum Wages Act,

1948, The Right of Children to Free and

Compulsory Education Act, 2009, The Sarva

Shiksha Abhiyan or the Education for All

Programme, 2001‐02, The Scheme for Working

Children in Need of Care and Protection by the

Ministry of Women and Child Development

provides non‐formal education, vocational training

to working children to facilitate their entry into

mainstream education. Some of the new legislations

include - Commission for the Protection of Child

Rights Act, 2005, The Prohibition of Child

Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006, The Protection of

Women from Domestic Violence Act, 2005, The

Unorganized Workers Social Security Act, 2008,

Communal Violence (Prevention, Control and

Rehabilitation of Victims) Act, 2005, The

Scheduled Tribes and other Traditional Forest

Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006,

Right to Information Act, 2005.

There are a number of Institutional Mechanisms to

look into the proper enforcement of the legal

provisions in India and they include Ministry of

Women and Child Development (MWCD) in 2006,

National Commission for the Protection of Child

Rights (NCPCR) and the National Human Rights

Commission.

Children‟s welfare in the last 60 years has been

inextricably woven into women‟s welfare and

women‟s social condition; to an extent, children‟s

welfare has been subsumed under the composite

concept „women-and children‟. It is hard to peer

beyond the tangle of adults who pronounce on

children‟s „needs‟ in the context of mother-child

relations, and to look clearly at children themselves.

It is still more difficult to listen to children

seriously. And it is yet more difficult to include

children into society rather than excluding them.

But these are essential enterprises: we must

extricate children, conceptually, from parents, the

family and professionals. We must study the social

condition of childhood and write children into the

script of the social order. Essentially the interlinked

reasons for doing this are twofold. Proper

understanding of the social order requires

consideration of all its members, all social groups.

And children, like other minority groups, lack a

voice and have a right to be heard and their views

taken into account. It is through working towards

better understanding of the social condition of

childhood that we can provide a firm basis for

working towards implementation of their rights.

(Thomas.P. Jones.L. Efroymson.D. et.al. 2012.)

In a country like India where the problems of

children are as varied as ranging from health to

education to abuse to labor and so on, moving

the concern now towards children’s most basic

right and opportunity to play in cities although

seems too unimportant but children’s play

provision in cities can help in their education,

health and overall development as well.

Table 1-Standards of Town & country planning

organization

S.n

o Type Population/unit

Area

req.[ha]

1 Tot lot 500 0.05

2 Children‟s park 2000 0.2

3 Neighborhood

playground 1000 0.2

4 Neighborhood

park 5000 0.8

Source- TCPO

Hence a concern for children‟s play provisions is

essential. More so there are a number of issues of

children‟s play in cities.

If we say child, the very first thing that comes to mind

is play, but in all of the legal provisions made so far,

this word does not appear , maybe it is hidden in

words like facilities and opportunities for children

which still awaits to be interpreted in a right way.

Apart from the legal provisions there are also some

planning provisions made by the TCPO, UDPFI and

MRTP Act which lays down some standards of the

minimum play areas that need to be provided in any

city while making the development plan. The

following tables give us an idea about the play

provisions that can be given in regard to population,

catchment area, scale and intensity of use of play

areas etc.

Planning unit Area in sq.m per person

Housing cluster

3-4 local parks &

playgrounds

Sector/Neighborhood

3-4 local parks &

playgrounds

Community

2-3 community level parks

& open spaces

District

1 district level park & sports

center,maidan

Sub-city center

1 city level park,sports

complex,botanical/zoo

garden

Overall town/city

level 10 - 12 sq.m. per person

Source- UDPFI guidelines

Figure 5- Children in group playing in open grounds in parks

In light of the existing facts about children in India,

the legislations ,policies, planning provisions made

for children, open playable spaces and the values

attached to these play spaces in cities, it‟s also now

important to know about play as an activity in

children‟s life.

2 What is play?

Play is a meaningful experience and tremendously

satisfying- pursuit children seek out eagerly and

one they find endlessly absorbing. Play is

paradoxical – it is serious and non-serious, real

and not real, apparently purposeless and yet

essential to development.

In a much quoted review of play theory and

research, authors Rubin, Fein and Vandenberg

draw together existing psychological definitions,

developing a consensus around a definition of

play behavior as –

Intrinsically motivated

Controlled by the players

Concerned with process than

product

Non-literal

Free of externally imposed

rules

Characterized by the active

engagement of the players

These characteristics now frame much of the

scholarly work on children‟s play.

Children have their own definitions of play

and their own deeply serious and purposeful

goals. These definitions taken together give us

a glimpse of the complexity and depth of the

phenomenon of children‟s play. There are

many forms of play in childhood variously

described as exploratory play, object play,

construction play, physical play [sensorimotor

play], rough and tumble play, dramatic play

[solitary pretense], socio-dramatic play,

fantasy play, make believe or symbolic play,

games with rules and games with invented

rules.(Hewes. Par Jane.Let the children play:

Nature‟s answer to early learning, 2005)

Figure 7 - Defining the kinds of play

S.

no

.

Kinds of play Description Ag

e

ra

ng

e

1 Exploratory/sen

sory/object

play

Exploring objects and

environments with

touch,mouthing,tossing,

banging,squeezing etc.

0-

2.5

yrs

2 Dramatic play Imaginative play,

inventing scripts,playing

roles with support of

action figures,cars, dolls

etc.

3-8

yrs

3 Construction

play

Build and construct with

commercial toyswith

found and recycled materials.

3-8

yrs

4 Physical play Rough and tumble play

like

running,climbing,sliding

,jumping etc.

3-8

yrs

5 Socio-dramatic

play

Enact social roles and

scripts with friends in

small groups.

3-6

yrs

6 Games with

rules

Play formal games in

social groups with rules

like cards,board games

etc.

5

yrs

an

d

up

7 Games with

invented rules

Invent their own games

with rules in self-organized groups.

5-8

yrs.

Source – Play England report, 2009

Figure 6- Children playing in open grounds in neighborhoods

Play is self chosen, for the pleasure and

interest of the player only. Play has,

furthermore, been described as a frame of

mind or an approach to action, rather than an

activity or action itself (Bruner in National

Playing Fields Association, 2000).

2.4 The importance of play

Children‟s play is easy to recognize, but

notoriously difficult to define. Play deals

with feelings as varied as curiosity, pleasure,

seriousness and creativity. Play can be

physical or intellectual, social or solitary,

but “in retrospect it is always remembered

as fun” (Rennie.et.al 2003). The literature on

play highlights that play has a fundamental

impact on children‟s healthy growth and

development, as it allows them to discover,

explore and test their environment and make

sense of it. Playful behavior promotes

learning and concentration, in addition to

encouraging the development of social skills

and an ability to manage risk.

Most parents and educators agree that

outdoor play is a natural and critical part of

a child‟s healthy development. Through

freely chosen outdoor play activities

children learn some of the skills necessary

for adult life, including social competence,

problem solving, creative thinking, and

safety skills (Miller, 1989; Rivkin, 1995,

2000; Moore & Wong, 1997). When playing

outdoors, children grow emotionally and

academically by developing an appreciation

for the environment, participating in

imaginative play, developing initiative, and

acquiring an understanding of basic

academic concepts such as investigating the

property of objects and of how to use simple

tools to accomplish a task (Kosanke &

Warner, 1990; Guddemi & Eriksen, 1992;

Singer & Singer, 2000).

Outdoor play also offers children

opportunities to explore their community;

enjoy sensory experiences with dirt, water,

sand, and mud; find or create their own

places for play; collect objects and develop

hobbies; and increase their liking for

physical activity. In fact, research shows that

between the ages of three and 12 a child‟s

body experiences its greatest physical

growth, as demonstrated by the child‟s urge

to run, climb, and jump in outdoor spaces

(Noland et al, 1990; Kalish, 1995; Cooper et

al, 1999; Janz et al, 2000). Such vigorous

movements and play activities can not only

enhance muscle growth, but also support the

growth of the child‟s heart and lungs as well

as all other vital organs essential for normal

physical development. For example, active

play stimulates the child‟s digestive system

and helps improve appetite, ensuring

continued strength and bodily growth

(Clements, 1998; Pica, 2003). Vigorous

outdoor play activities also increase the

growth and development of the fundamental

nervous centers in the brain for clearer

thought and increased learning abilities

(Hannaford, 1995; Clements, 1998;

Gabbard, 1998; Jenson, 2000).

As per the studies done by researchers in

India like Pandya.Y and Priya.C, the built

environments in the Indian context have

spatial configurations such that they

encourage streets as spaces to socialize and

play which also correlates with the findings

Figure 8- Children playing on streets on a rainy day

of the international studies that children

prefer places that are busier and frequented

not only by other children but by people of

all ages. However, besides these benefits, it

is generally accepted that children do not

play to achieve an external reward or goal,

but because they want to play (National

Playing Fields Association, 2000).

2.5 Value of the playable spaces

Parks have long been recognized as major

contributors to the physical and aesthetic

quality of urban neighborhoods. But a new,

broader view of parks has recently been

emerging. This new view goes well beyond

the traditional value of parks as places of

recreation and visual assets to communities,

and focuses on how policymakers,

practitioners, and the public can begin to

think about parks as valuable contributors to

larger urban policy objectives, such as job

opportunities, youth development, public

health, and community building. Of the

various values attached to playable spaces,

the social value of playable spaces is worth

mentioning which is as follows -

Communities

Parks and playgrounds provide

communities with a sense of place

and belonging, opportunities for

recreation, health and fitness, events

that reinforce social cohesion and

inclusive society and offer an escape

from the stresses and strains of

modern urban living. Perhaps more

significantly, the acts of improving,

renewing or even saving a park can

build extraordinary levels of social

capital in a neighborhood.

Families and Children

Examinations of family leisure have

consistently demonstrated a positive

relationship between involvement in

family recreation and aspects of

family strength. It has been

suggested that in modern society,

leisure is the single most important

force developing cohesive, healthy

relationships between husbands and

wives and between parents and their

children. As a freely available,

highly accessible local facility

providing recreational opportunities

for all ages, quality parks and green

space can make a vital contribution

to this relationship building process.

Culture and Sport

Parks and open spaces enable

individuals to revive their

creativeness. They are the heart and

soul of cities; often retelling our

heritage and injecting life into the

built environment. Many of our

parks and green spaces have an

element of historic association such

as the name, a monument or

commemorative features, with most

telling the stories of the local

community. Consequently, they

imbue the area with a distinctive

character and contribute significantly

to tourism. The historic environment

has a positive and profound

relationship to peoples‟ sense of

place; which in turn can have many

positive benefits including increased

sense of identity and pride.

Crime and Policing

High quality maintenance of public

space should be integral to strategies

for enabling the police to deal with

the crime and anti-social behavior

that blights peoples‟ lives.

Equalities

Everyone should have access to good

green spaces irrespective of

ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation,

disability, age or religion. Despite

much equality legislation, it is often

the least advantaged who are worst

served by a standard service.

Social Care and Disability

Green spaces that have on site staff

teams such as city farms, community

gardens, Country Parks, Woodland

and Wildlife Trusts, can be

particularly useful environments for

people with social care needs. They

can provide a safe, risk-managed

environment, often with specialist

staff, facilities, equipment or

programmes aimed at those

disadvantaged by physical or mental

difficulties.

Older People

Parks are age proof and bring

opportunities for physical activity,

volunteering and social interaction

all of which provide a sense of

achievement and purpose. Physical

activity does not end with later life.

It enables the continued enjoyment

of activities of daily living and helps

to maintain an individual„s social

networks.

Education

Schools, particularly in urban areas,

have long used parks and green

spaces to access the natural

environment as a means of

education. Parks provide the

opportunity for play, exploration and

the development of an awareness and

understanding of risk in a dynamic,

interactive, accessible and free

outdoor classroom.

3 Issues in children’s play with growing

urbanization

Adults can enhance and facilitate children‟s

play but are unable to force children to play.

This explains why the same activity in one

situation generates play and free play is

absent in another situation. While

stimulating play opportunities benefit the

children, an absence of such opportunities

may also result in negative consequences for

the affected child. A continuing lack of

sensory stimulation is sometimes referred to

as play deprivation (Hughes 2003).

Although the literature on the subject of play

deprivation is limited, it has been suggested

that play deprived children show symptoms

of withdrawal, impaired concentration, anti-

social or aggressive behavior and poor social

skills (National Playing Fields Association,

2000; Hughes, 2003; Rennie 2003).

However, play allows children to make

mistakes and fail tasks and it helps them to

recognize their limitations, as well as

discover their abilities. If play becomes too

safe, it is not only predictable and boring, it

also limits children‟s practical experiences

of risk management, and hence their ability

to recognize and deal with risky situations.

“The outcome of a more rigidly controlled

play environment will result in children

being unable to deal with hazardous

situations themselves in later life” (Play

Wales, 2000). In a public atmosphere where

children‟s safety is valued over their

freedom of mobility, such limitations may

have adverse long-term impacts on

children‟s physical health, as well as

emotional well-being (Gill, 1996).

Parents and other adults are often overly

concerned with issues such as safety and

educational learning, to the extent where

free play becomes very limited. This is

especially the case with outdoor play, where

parents‟ fears about traffic accidents and

strangers cause restrictions on the

opportunities children have for exploring

their local physical environment

independently.

The biggest issue and challenges in

children‟s play lies in the fact that adults

today fail to understand the importance and

meaning of play. More apparently in the

current lifestyle in cities, play is regarded by

adults as a futile and purposeless activity

that‟s only a waste of time of children, who

are poor victims of long distances to be

travelled in buses to school, hovering syllabi

of board education, which in the context of

upgrading the syllabus overburdens a child

with an advanced course material. If play

always and exclusively serves adult

educational goals, it is no longer play from

the child‟s perspective. It becomes work,

albeit playfully organized.

Increased anxieties about safety and security

on the part of some parents have restricted

the free movement of children around their

neighborhoods and only added to the lure of

games consoles, so school visits to outdoor

locations are more important than ever.

3.4 Play and playable spaces under threat

Play is an essential part of the physical,

emotional and psychological development of

any child, but in urban environments the

opportunities for play are restricted. With

the growing urbanization, the rate of

construction is also very high and the open

spaces which acted as substitutes to parks

and playgrounds now stand converted to

sites for dumping construction material,

parking lots, hawker‟s area, unauthorized

markets etc. Today, the urban park is the

primary outdoor environment that still

remains for children to meet and play in a

sociable and informal setting, where there is

still scope for imagination, improvisation

and innovation. Play is not grown out of

quickly. There are positive benefits to

indulging in play whatever your age;

teenagers need to play and socially interact

just as much as younger children.

Many parks and green spaces, in partnership

with local authority Children„s Services,

may act as the venues for formalized after

school clubs and holiday play schemes.

Without such schemes being available

within the immediate locality, many

working parents from the surrounding

communities would be forced to make

difficult choices between their on-going

employment and career development and the

care of their children. This is parks and

green spaces again making a useful

contribution to local economies.

Again the availability of these spaces to

children and their access to the benefits they

bring depends on the ability of the parks

team to deliver a safe, quality environment.

In recent decades, the trend has been for

parents to be more concerned about the

dangers faced by unaccompanied children as

Figure 9- Children’s restricted doorstep play

they explore the environment outside of the

home. Even a comparatively minor erosion

of a parent„s perceptions about the quality

and safety of the local park, can be enough

to discourage a parent from allowing their

child to visit alone.

4 Conclusions

In the current climate about the growing

urbanization, changes in land use in cities in

India, changes in the social values, changing

age structures, technological advancements,

changing psychological and emotional needs

of people and society, the holistic

development of our future i.e. our children

has come to a standstill. It is now the time

for childhood educators, parents, play

advocates and researchers to do the

following –

Create the tools to assess the quality

of play environments and

experiences in various communities

in the city.

Educate and create awareness and

clear misconceptions among adults at

community level about child rights

and play

Introducing the play provisions of

children as community level efforts

by the municipal corporations and

public-private-partnership schemes

to maintain and look after them.

Creating provisions to grade the

communities and allotting incentives

by the local authorities for

maintaining the same.

Working out policies and strategies

for provisions in the new residential

developments towards well

maintained and accessible play

provisions.

It is high time now to take due cognizance

of the situation in the cities and act upon the

solutions in view of healthy children

development in cities.

Research highlights

The paper gives an overview of existing

laws and legislations in constitution and

planning provisions in cities in India.

It highlights the existing condition and

people‟s outlook towards play in cities.

It tries to bring forth value of play for

children and raise concern for our role

and responsibilities.

Limitations

The research points towards need of legal

provisions and strategies for play for

children at community level in cities but

does not seek for solutions or applications of

research on residential areas.

Recommendations

Create the tools to assess the quality

of play environments and

experiences in various communities

in the city.

Educate and create awareness and

clear misconceptions among adults at

community level about child rights

and play

Funding and Policy Aspects

Introducing the play provisions of

children as community level efforts

by the municipal corporations and

public-private-partnership schemes

to maintain and look after them.

Creating provisions to grade the

communities and allotting incentives

by the local authorities for

maintaining the same.

Working out policies and strategies

for provisions in the new residential

developments towards well

maintained and accessible play

provisions.

Author’s Contribution and Competing

Interests

With this review paper highlighting the

issues in children‟s play, it is time now to

take due cognizance of the situation in the

neighborhoods in cities in India and act

upon the solutions in regard to the overall

wellbeing of our children.

Acknowledgement –

I would like to thank my guide

Dr.V.S.Adane for his guidance and support.

I am also grateful to Prof. Gadkari,

Prof.Purohit, Prof.Gujarkar and my seniors

and colleagues at IDEAS, Nagpur for all

their encouragement and goodwill.

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