Tomorrow is Playday, the national day for play in Britain. Children and families in Leeds are invited to join in the fun and #GoOrange by wearing, finding, creating or even baking something orange.
The day is a chance to campaign about the importance of play and reflects Leeds City Council’s ambition to make Leeds a child-friendly city.
Play is fundamental to children’s health, wellbeing and happiness, but months of being isolated at home have made it more difficult for kids to be playful.
Child Friendly Leeds events and activities are taking place around the city centre tomorrow to mark Playday. From pop-up climbing walls, city-wide trails to playful arts and craft sessions, there’s something fun for everyone.
Prizes will be awarded to the best #GoOrange pictures shared on social media using the hashtag. To enter, upload images across all social media platforms with #ChildFriendlyLeeds.
An online activity pack has been launched full of fun activities and recipes to help people with their #GoOrange celebrations, and to keep families entertained throughout the day.
Playday is the annual national day for play in the UK, coordinated by Play England, Play Wales, Play Scotland and PlayBoard Northern Ireland.
The theme this year is the Summer of Play, which recognises the challenges children and young people have faced over the past year and the need to enjoy time for play with their friends, having fun. Families and carers are being encouraged to celebrate children’s right to play in their local community.
For more than a year, children across the UK have been forced to spend time indoors, inactive and isolated from friends due to Covid-19 restrictions. Due to this, there has been an unprecedented increase in children’s mental health problems and loneliness, alongside reduced physical activity.
In response, child psychologists, paediatricians and educators have independently and urgently called for play to be central to children’s recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic, and many others agree. Together, Play England Play Wales, Play Scotland and Playboard Northern Ireland are calling for everyone to help make this summer a #SummerOfPlay for children across the UK.
Children are experts in play and can play almost anywhere and with anything when they are given the freedom and permission to do so.
As restrictions are eased, it is vital that children are given the time and safe space they need to reconnect and play with each other and to enjoy a wide range of playful activities, so we can all start to recover and heal.
If visiting one of the fabulous parks in Leeds on Playday, make your own adventure by downloading Love Exploring, the new, free and fun way to encourage families to be active together and inspire people of all ages to explore their local parks and discover some of the city’s cultural treasures. Available to download to your smartphone, the app lets you join our Dinosaur Safari, through an augmented reality (AR) game.
LeedsBID has also been supporting all things child friendly and recently launched the Leeds Jurassic Trail 2, featuring 13 life-size moving dinosaurs across the city.
Councillor Fiona Venner, Leeds City Council’s executive member for Adult and Children’s Social Care and Health Partnerships, said: “Child Friendly Leeds have hosted an event on National Play Day annually and this year we have been promoting the #Summer of Play, a campaign recently launched by Save the Children and Play England to highlight the importance of play.
“I’m thrilled to see so many of our partners and ambassadors across the city support our commitment to ensuring that every child has the right to play by organising events and activities for children and young people.
“On the day, activities will take place across the city as we ask everyone to #GoOrange, have fun and celebrate all of the amazing things that are making Leeds the best city for children and young people to grow up in.”
Across the city centre tomorrow there will be free climbing activities, free tennis, free play activities, arts and crafts, and a theatre performance of The Adventures of Bo Pee which costs £13.20 per person but is a perfect theatre introduction for little ones with an interactive story and sensory learning.
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