PLAY – an island of safety in a stormy sea

‘Play is the language of childhood. Playful children are happier children, more confident children...’

From CreateCATT: "As the uncertainty of this pandemic continues to loom large in all of our lives, concern about the impact on a generation of children grows bigger. A generation growing up amid global uncertainty, a generation missing out on opportunities for attending school – or if they are at school, they’re socially distancing, wearing masks and being constantly monitored. A generation of children who have lived many months on lockdown, impacting not only their social and academic development but also their physicality and emotional wellbeing. A generation where the stress of the worst recession on record is hanging over their families, creating systemic anxiety whose ripples will be felt for many years, an event creating wide chasms in social inequality.

"The World Economic Forum predicts that tens of millions of children lifted out of poverty in the last 10 years are now slipping back. The situation is dire in so many ways, it can be hard to stay optimistic. But it’s also a time when we have been able to look clearly at what matters: investing in relationships, health and communities, and thinking of new ways to reimagine education. The old ways need to change, and these changes can be harnessed for good. As resourceful, creative human beings, we’re being given opportunities to make these changes in unprecedented way...."