Survey Results - British BullDog, Marbles and Freeze are a thing of the past!
Traditional playground games like British BullDog, Marbles and Freeze are a thing of the past.
According to a *survey of 2000 parents and children aged 6-10, these games once loved by children up and down the country are on their way out alongside conkers and rock, paper, scissors, stone.
However, despite fears that online games, gadgets and social media are all destroying playtime – classics such as hide and seek, it/tag and hopscotch all remain popular. As does make-believe (or pretend play), with children still playing Disney princesses and mums and dads. Although Harry Potter, Fortnite and Avengers are also now reenacted.
Meanwhile, the study also found that children are spending less time playing outside at school than their parents did. Even though:
- 7 in 10 (73%) of 6-10 year old’s prefer to play outdoors than inside
- 65% of parents would rather their children spend more time outside
On average kids spend around 38 minutes (between 31 and 45 minutes) in the playground, while their mums and dads spent around 53 minutes outside (between 46 and 60 minutes).
Greg Revell from Clovis Canopies, who commissioned the One Poll research, said: “It’s such a shame that school children across the UK are spending less time outdoors participating in self-directed play than their parents did, especially as our study found that the majority of British children would rather play outside than inside.
“As we all know now, being outside helps contribute to a person’s mental and physical wellbeing.
“Many life lessons are learned during break time, whether it’s playing as part of a team in a football game or winning/losing a Marbles match.
“Although some of the old playground games, like Marbles, don’t feature in the top 10 anymore, it’s great to see that some are still up there! Even if they do now have a modern twist.
“From our point of view at Clovis Canopies, it’s important for schools to provide a safe outdoor environment for children and get them outside.
“Whilst protecting children from the weather, our school canopies also help to maximise the benefit of the investment made in costly play equipment.”
According to the Department of Education, all schools are given the autonomy to make decisions about the structure and duration of their school day. But they recommend that children are given an appropriate break to improve both physical and mental wellbeing.
Official guidelines also state that primary age children should get at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity a day.
For further information about Clovis and school canopies and to see the top ten children and parents games click here.
About Clovis Canopies
Clovis is a family-owned company having traded for over 50 years with many of our staff being with the company in excess of 20 years. Now managed by the second generation, we pride ourselves on the quality of our craftsmanship and our customer care. We are accredited with the BS EN 1090 (CE Marking), ISO9000 (Quality), ISO14001 (Environmental) and ISO45001 (Health & Safety) standards. We are adaptable and easy to work with, whether you are a direct end-user customer, architect or a local or national main contractor. Operating from our 18,000sq.ft factory in Kent, we design, build, deliver and install canopies, walkways and shelters nationwide across the UK.
*The One Poll survey was commissioned by Clovis Canopies. 2000 people took part. 1000 parents and 1000 children aged 6-10.
