Take back the streets
If anyone was wondering how helicopter parenting affects children, it can best be summed up by some research unearthed by StreetPLAY, an international movement that came to Toronto in 2017.
It found the average roaming distance for children at the age of 10 was a whopping 10 km in the 1950s. Needless to say, the scope overly cautious parents give kids to explore the world has been dramatically shortened. It’s now down to between 100 and 250 metres. But instead of trying to persuade parents to unleash their children, StreetPLAY is focused on something kids today can only dream of: being allowed to play in the street outside their own homes where parents can easily keep an eye on them.
More power to them and to other organizations that have sprung up in North America and Europe with the goal of taking back the streets for kids’ play.
The fact is studies show children need to play outside. And if they can’t roam further afield, it’s got to take place on the street outside their homes.
That may not sound as wonderful as hanging from monkey bars on a playground or joining a softball league, but studies show the health, emotional and mental benefits of unstructured, outdoor play are countless.
First, when kids play outdoors, anywhere, they move more and play longer. That’s important considering that, according to ParticipACTION, only 9 per cent of Canadian children between the ages of 5 and 17 are doing the recommended 60 minutes of heart-pumping activity each day.
But with street play, kids activity isn’t curtailed by the hours available at the arena or on the soccer field. They simply step outside their homes and play for as long as they want with kids in their own neighbourhood.
There’s also a qualitative difference between street play and organized sports. Left to play on their own without coaches supervising them, kids take more risks. And by testing their physical limits they are not just developing new motor skills, but mental and emotional ones that will help them in adulthood.
As MPP Michael Coteau argued when he was children and youth minister in the former Wynne government, street play helps kids build skills in communication, social rules and relationship building. They learn the arts of compromise, patience, perseverance and teamwork. And, importantly, they get a sense of belonging within their community.
StreetPLAY, organized in Toronto by Earth Day Canada and the city, requires parents to apply for a permit to close their street to traffic on specific days between certain hours. During those times playground equipment fills the streets.
In Quebec, another excellent initiative has sprung up alongside StreetPLAY to take back the streets for kids.
In the town of Beloeil, near Montreal, parents can also apply to the city to make their streets free-play zones under a program called Dans ma rue, on joue! The roads aren’t closed to traffic as they are in StreetPLAY. Instead, free-play zone signs are posted at each end of the street with lower speed limits (30 km/h) and hours of play that last from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
So far, 48 streets in Beloeil have signed on to the initiative, which was started by one parent and has spread to 17 other towns in Quebec.
It should be adopted in many other towns and cities, alongside StreetPLAY.
After all, it’s not just kids who benefit with these types of play zones. Parents sit outside with their neighbours, enjoying conversation while they watch their kids play. Cars are forced to slow down.
Both these ideas are a welcome change from city bylaws, such as one in Toronto that actually banned kids from playing ball hockey and basketball on the street. Council killed that one as recently as 2016.
It’s still summer. What better time to take back the streets for kids?