CYP Now - Policy & Practice: What we gain when children can play outside

Ask any passer-by how they would solve the country's impending obesity crisis and odds on they would tell you straight - "make it possible for children to play outside again". Why then does such a seemingly obvious solution have such difficulty in translating into policy and political support?

There is little doubt that poor housing design, sprawling urbanisation, busy roads and the real and perceived dangers of public spaces have all played their part in the decline of places to play.

As promises of lottery funds to rebuild play spaces finally turn to dust, one of the issues that children consistently rate as the most important falls foul of the rigid government machine. Yes play is important, but it's not quite education, leisure, health - the list goes on.

But if we are to take Every Child Matters seriously, this is just the kind of cross-departmental policy issue we have to tackle.

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