Right to Play

Chief Investigators
Professor Anita Bundy, The University of Sydney
Margaret Wallen, Senior Occupational Therapist - Research, The Children's Hospital at Westmead
and
Adjunct Lecturer, School of Occupation and Leisure Sciences, The University of Sydney

Project Personnel
Paula Bray, Occupational Therapist, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead
Belinda Shepherd, Occupational Therapist, The Children’s Hospital at Westmead

Project’s Aim
The primary purpose of this pilot project is to estimate effect sizes of an innovative intervention in order to determine sample size needed for a large-scale externally funded trial. We will compare two occupational therapy-based approaches for promoting children’s play. The experimental intervention, conducted with small groups of parents, is designed to help parents examine their beliefs and practices regarding their children’s play. The control intervention is conventional occupational therapy implemented directly with the children and using play as a medium.

Project Background
Play:

• a time when children forget everything else and immerse themselves in activity;
• the source of some of our happiest childhood memories and most intense friendships;
• a conduit for the development of social, cognitive, and physical skills.

All children deserve the right to play. However, play does not come naturally to all children.

Many things potentially interfere with children’s abilities to play: abuse; social rejection; attention deficits; mental, physical or intellectual impairments; obesity; and adverse environmental conditions. Each year, the Occupational Therapy Department at Children’s Hospital Westmead provides intervention to more than 1700 such children and their families. Among rehabilitation personnel, occupational therapists (OTs) have a unique focus on everyday activity. Thus, play is of particular interest to OTs who work with children and their families and the primary medium for their services (Case-Smith, 2001).

Improving children’s play often means that adults get involved, a phenomenon that has long been controversial. Researchers know that parents and teachers influence both the immediate play and its long term effects. However, they disagree as to whether that influence is positive or negative. Supporters (e.g., Kitson, 1994; Roskos & Neuman, 1993) have argued that adult involvement enriches play and maximises its impact on development. Opponents maintain that adults overstructure and disrupt the play, and reduce children’s opportunities for problem solving, risk taking, and peer interaction (e.g., Pellegrini & Galda, 1982). Most researchers agree that the way in which adults interact is the key variable for determining whether the effect is positive or negative (e.g., Fein & Fryer, 1995). Given adults’ widespread influence, it is surprising that no research has examined the effects of teaching them to support play.

Case-Smith, J. (2001). Occupational therapy for children (2nd ed.). St. Louis: Mosby.
Fein, G., & Fryer, M. (1995). Maternal contributions to early symbolic play competence. Developmental Review, 15, 367-381.
Kitson, N. (1994). “Please Miss Alexander: Will you be the robber?” Fantasy play: A case for adult intervention. In J. Moyles (Ed.), The excellence of play. Buckingham, UK: Open University Press, 88-98.
Pellegrini, A., & Galda, L. (1993). Ten years after: A reexamination of symbolic play and literacy research. Reading Research Quarterly, 28, 162-177.
Roskos, K. & Neuman, S. (1993). Descriptive observations of adults’ facilitation of literacy in play. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 8, 77-97.