We can’t all be above average. In fact, 50% of us are below average in whatever we are measuring.
The percentage of 6-12 year-olds who play sports on a regular basis is below average. And it’s worse if you come from a poor family.
So here is a hedge bet, an opposite position in a related asset.
A wide-ranging movement vocabulary in a deconstructed environment. The opposite of a narrow movement vocabulary in a structured environment.
Deconstructed because one of the assumptions in free play is that kids can find their own solutions. Largely I’m happy to play along. But, kids by the age of 10 are losing their ability to squat fully to the floor, I suspect through poor breathing patterns. And no amount of free play will bring that back.
The first rule of free play is not to talk about free play. So instead let’s talk about the 3 Ds of free play.
Deconstruct then Design for Development.