Documentary Film on Modern Childhood Asks
Tuesday, March 24, 2008 at 7pm

A new documentary film, Where Do the Children Play?, examines an issue of growing concern among pediatricians, mental health experts, educators, and environmentalists: more and more children are growing up today with little or no opportunity for unstructured play, especially outdoors.

The film will be shown at a free public screening and follow up discussion on Tuesday March 24, 2008 at Hanover College’s Horner Center, RM 102 at 7pm. Refreshments will be provided. This event is sponsored by Hanover College Counseling Services, Rivers Institute and Education Department with assistance from the U.S. Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that works for the restoration of play in children’s lives.

Where Do the Children Play? evolved from Elizabeth Goodenough’s work on “secret spaces of childhood” at the University of Michigan. The film was written and directed by Christopher Cook and produced by Michigan Television.

“Children need free time every day to discover their own abilities, desires, and limitations,” says Goodenough, who also edited the film’s companion volume, A Place for Play; “Open-ended exploration and play in woods, fields, vacant lots, or other semi-wild spaces enhances curiosity and confidence throughout life.”

A marked decline in children’s spontaneous and creative play is a key factor in their increasing mental health problems, according to a recent statement from an international group of educators and children’s advocates. Causes of the demise of play cited by the group include parental fears of “stranger danger” and the explosion of electronic entertainment—to the point of addiction for some—in the lives of today’s children. These and other issues are explored in the film.

The Alliance for Childhood is helping to promote Where Do the Children Play? as part of its national public awareness campaign, “Restoring Children’s Play.” The Alliance is helping cities across the country to form local play coalitions to address issues of access to open-ended play and playful environments for all children. For more information see the Alliance’s web site, www.allianceforchildhood.org.

Contact: Katie Dine Young, Clinical Psychologist, kdineyoung@hanover.edu, x6842