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DOI

https://doi.org/10.25035/ijpp.02.01.04

Abstract

This project examines the nature of contemporary childhood with a focus on changing rates of play in Queensland’s urban neighbourhoods. The Neighbourhood Play Project is a pilot project funded by the Queensland Government Department of Sport & Recreation. The purpose of the project was to examine and record the prevalence of local children’s existing play networks in urban Queensland neighbourhoods and to quantify their influence on children's physical activity and outdoor play levels. The recorded decline of Queensland children’s activity levels and physical literacy over the last 30 years – and its direct negative correlation with children’s increasing screen usage over the same time period (Active Healthy Kids Australia (2016) – necessitated a focused study on the possible causes of these changes to Queensland childhood. At the outset of the project it was hypothesised that supporting the creation and growth of local play networks would see a corresponding growth in the healthy play habits and physical activity of the children immediately involved in the project, and subsequently of other children living in the local area. A collaborative approach was employed whereby the playwork practitioners leading the project facilitated the creation and development of local neighbourhood play networks. Additionally, they talked with parents about their understanding of and engagement with neighbourhood play at the outset and throughout the project.

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