The Child’s Right to Play: Laying the Building Blocks for Optimal Health and Weil-Being

Abstract

The child’s right to play is often described as the “forgotten right” (Hodgkin & Newell, 2007, p. 469). Yet “play is one of the most distinctive features of early childhood” (CRC, General Comment No. 7, 2006a, p. 15). The right to play has long been recognised by the international community as a fundamental right (Declaration of the Rights of the Child, Article 7, 1959; UN CRC, Article 31, 1989). Research findings across disciplines suggest that play is instrumental in children’s cognitive and emotional development, socialisation and healthy physical growth.