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Enrich children's playtime with games consoles, pop music and TV says new research

Monday 14 March 2011

Children playing Tug of War

New research findings counteract the widely held belief that the media is destroying the imaginative play of children, while traditional games like Tag and "Ipi-dipi-dation" are thriving in 21st century school playgrounds. New research by the Institute of Education, the University of East London and the University of Sheffield, a ground-breaking website (www.bl.uk/playtimes) from the British Library, and a documentary film produced by the University of East London, show that, rather than dying out as some fear, children's play is in robust health.

By observing play over two years in playgrounds in Sheffield and London, researchers have found that games consoles, pop music and television actually enrich children's pretend play; adding topical themes to fantasy scenarios as youngsters incorporate their favourite characters, reality TV stars, pop songs and dance moves into their make-believe worlds.

Launched by former Children's Laureate, Michael Rosen, the findings and outcomes of this two-year project, Children's Playground Games and Songs in the New Media Age, (report link - http://tinyurl.com/6cssrat), funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), will be unveiled at the British Library tomorrow (Tuesday 15 March) along with the Playtimes website which features unique recordings and footage of children's games and rhymes from 1900 to the present day.

So-called traditional games have always incorporated elements of children's media cultures. In the sixties, seventies and eighties, folklorists Iona and Peter Opie documented how the games of the time included fragments of advertising jingles, pop songs, theme tunes, film stars and soap operas. Today's children act out the Jeremy Kyle Show, or Britain's Got Talent, as well as engaging in play based on computer games. Other media sources include contemporary pop stars such as Beyoncé and shows such as Mamma Mia and High School Musical.

In addition, the schools feature in a 50 minute documentary film, Ipi-dipi-dation: My Generation, produced by Grethe Mitchell of the University of East London as part of the project, which is premiering at Tuesday's event. Featuring unique footage highlighting the diversity and complexity of children's play, and interviews with boys and girls aged six to eleven talking about their games, the documentary offers a fascinating insight into the world of the playground as seen by the children themselves.

The project has also brought traditional play culture into the age of new media, developing a computer game called the Game Catcher, which combines traditional clapping games with the latest videogame technology from the Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Kinect.

Grethe Mitchell, Senior Lecturer at the University of East London said: "Playground and computer games are normally seen in opposition to one another, but the Game Catcher extends the reach of playground games into the new media age, fostering a new form of electronic play and allowing games to be shared with children who are far away or perhaps because they are ill, cannot be present in the playground."

Notes to Editors

The University of East London (UEL) is a global learning community with over 28,000 students from over 120 countries world-wide. Our vision is to achieve recognition, both nationally and internationally, as a successful and inclusive regional university proud of its diversity, committed to new modes of learning which focus on students and enhance their employability, and renowned for our contribution to social, cultural and economic development, especially through our research and scholarship. We have a strong track-record in widening participation and working with industry.

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