The IPA Declaration
The Child's Right to Play
The IPA Declaration of the Child’s Right to Play was originally produced in November 1977 at the IPA Malta Consultation held in preparation for the International Year of the Child (1979). It was revised by the IPA International Council in Vienna, September 1982, and Barcelona, September 1989.
The IPA Declaration should be read in conjunction with Article 31 of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child (adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations, November 20, 1989), which states that the child has a right to leisure, play, and participation in cultural and artistic activities.
In 2014, IPA released the updated Declaration on the Importance of Play.
What Is Play?
Foundation
CHILDREN are the foundation of the world's future.
Universal
CHILDREN have played at all times throughout history and in all cultures.
Vital
PLAY, along with the basic needs of nutrition, health, shelter and education, is vital to develop the potential of all children.
Expression
PLAY is communication and expression, combining thought and action; it gives satisfaction and a feeling of achievement.
Instinctive
PLAY is instinctive, voluntary, and spontaneous.
Development
PLAY helps children develop physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.
Life Skill
PLAY is a means of learning to live, not a mere passing of time.
IPA Concern
Alarming Trends Affecting Childhood
IPA is deeply concerned by a number of alarming trends and their negative impact on children's development.
- Society's indifference to the importance of play
- Over-emphasis on theoretical and academic studies in schools
- Increasing numbers of children living with inadequate provisions for survival and development
- Inadequate environmental planning, which results in a lack of basic amenities, inappropriate housing forms, and poor traffic management
- Increasing commercial exploitation of children, and the deterioration of cultural traditions
- Lack of access for third world women to basic training in childcare and development
- Inadequate preparation of children to cope with life in a rapidly changing society
- Increasing segregation of children in the community
- The increasing numbers of working children, and their unacceptable working conditions
- Constant exposure of children to war, violence, exploitation and destruction
- Over-emphasis on unhealthy competition and 'winning at all costs' in children's sports
Action Framework
Proposals for Action
The following proposals are listed under the names of government departments having a measure of responsibility for children.
Health
- Play is essential for the physical and mental health of the child.
- Establish programmes for professionals and parents about the benefits of play from birth onwards.
- Ensure basic conditions (nutrition, sanitation, clean water and air) which promote the healthy survival and development of all children.
- Incorporate play into community programmes designed to maintain children's physical and mental health.
- Include play as an integral part of all children's environments, including hospitals and other institutional settings.
Education
- Play is part of education.
- Provide opportunities for initiative, interaction, creativity and socialisation through play in formal education systems.
- Include studies of the importance of play and the means of play provision in the training of all professionals and volunteers working with and for children.
- Strengthen play provision in primary schools to enhance learning and to maintain attendance and motivation.
- Ensure that working children have access to play and learning opportunities outside of the system of formal education.
Welfare
- Play is an essential part of family and community life.
- Ensure that play is accepted as an integral part of social development and social care.
- Promote measures that strengthen positive relationships between parents and children.
- Ensure that play is part of community-based services designed to integrate children with physical, mental or emotional disabilities into the community.
- Provide safe play environments that protect children against abduction, sexual abuse and physical violence.
Leisure
- Children need opportunities to play at leisure.
- Provide time, space, materials, natural settings, and programmes with leaders where children may develop a sense of belonging, self-esteem, and enjoyment through play.
- Enable interaction between children and people of all backgrounds and ages in leisure settings.
- Encourage the conservation and use of traditional indigenous games.
- Stop the commercial exploitation of children's play, and the production and sale of war toys and games of violence and destruction.
Planning
- The needs of the child must have priority in the planning of human settlements.
- Ensure that children and young people can participate in making decisions that affect their surroundings and their access to them.
- When planning new, or reorganising existing developments, recognise the child's small size and limited range of activity.
- Oppose the building of high-rise housing and provide opportunities to mitigate its detrimental effects on children and families.
- Reserve adequate and appropriate space for play and recreation through statutory provision.
IPA's Affirmation
IPA AFFIRMS its belief in the United Nations’ Declaration of the Rights of the Child, which in Article 31 states “The child shall have full opportunity to play and recreation, which should be directed to the same purposes as education; society and the public authorities shall endeavour to promote the enjoyment of this right.”
IPA APPEALS to all countries and organisations to take action to counteract the alarming trends which jeopardise children’s healthy development and to give high priority to long term programmes designed to ensure for all time: THE CHILD’S RIGHT TO PLAY.