PERMISSION TO PLAY: GAME CHANGING RESEARCH
Jane Gould, Senior Vice President, Consumer Insights, Nickelodeon
Started out wanting to know what the state of play was with parents and kids.
Went into this research knowing that Nickelodeon are not play experts, they are kid and family experts.
First went to experts, then went into 200 households across the country. Spent entire days at each of these moments to note down everyday moments. Then quantified what the saw with 1300 households around the country.
PLAY ACROSS THE AGES
Wanted to compare how play was when the parents were growing up. Play across different ages of kids (2-17)
Takeaways was that time has in fact changed play. Does not look like what it used to. However play looks different but it doesn’t mean it’s different and ‘bad’.
Academic play patterns haven’t changed. Six basic academic patterns remain the same:
– social play
– Attunement
– body movement
– imiagination
– object play
– narrative.
It’s true - girls want to nurture, boys want to destroy. This is indeed the cas.e Girls wasn’t to care for babies, flowers, cooperation etc. Boys want to kill, domination, competition ‘a matter of life and death!’
Parents feel their play as a kid was different.
Eg. 72% parents often say it’s more dangerous to play outside then they were young
Competitive play has changed – used to be seasonal , skill development, team work. Speaking to sports coaches, hear about year-round activities, time intenstive obligation, future plans, adult dominated. Now they understand why ‘silent soccer league’ had been created.
KIDS LIKE TO PLAY
Play is incredibly fundamental. Kids like it, want to do more of it. But kept hearing it’s not as easy as it sounds. Many barriers to what kids think of as ‘play’.
This is a generation of non-linear kids. Everything can be re-done, started, stopped, paused. You can come into games at any point and participate the way you choose to.
Changes in play observed by adults are just reality for kids and this reality is filled with excitement for them.
The old saying of ‘a time and a place for everything’ really doesn’t exist anymore for play – it is all the time, it is available any time.
Is play actually fun? Their qualatitive research say it is!
Most popular types for parents:
1. fun
2. social
3. challenging
4. problem solving
Kids wish they didn’t have to plan ahead to have time to play with friends. They want more spontaneous, kid-directed play. Kids prefer to play something where they get to make up the rules or instructions, rather than playing something that already has rules or instructions.
Kids want more outdoor play. 69% kids would prefer to playoutside over play inside. 85% kids love or like play where they get to be outside . 49% of kids agree if they could, they would always play outside.
FORCES AGAINST PLAY
Adult focus on purpose and outcomes – experts and parents all believe that all play must have a purpose. However most kids believe that purpose is the antithesis of play. For kids the process is the desired outcome.
More than half of all parents agree there’s too much focus on learning during play, kids should just get to have fun.
Schools are giving less time to and emphasis on play. Parents are looking to institutions to fix things for them and schools came up in research again and again. Government and schools are de-prioritizing play. Obsessing over standardized tests, and funding that is granted as a result.
Time bankruptcy: there’s more homework, increased curricular activities, ruse of dual earner and single parent households. Parents schedules are a bigger obastacle than kids. While 34% parents say that kids are too busy so playimte needs to be scheduled, but they mostly all agree it should NOT be scheduled.
Neighborhood erosion:
Fear and safety are a prime concern for kids. Protecting your child means play tie is not as free and easy as it used to be. More parental supervision so therefore less playtime, more time spent being locked in the house.
Adults being the Play Police:
More often than not, parents tend to have a negative impact on play – over prescribing, over scheduling, over thinking. Educators are too focused on test scores. Coaches pressure kids to win at all costs. 70% parents say structured play with rules of guidelines to follow keep kids out of danger.
Parents do see a need for child-directed opportunities. There’s no need for expensive and specialty toys. Yet parents still crave learning outcomes from play. For kids, purpose is process and outcome is bonus.
TECHNOLOGY AS FRIEND AND FOE
Technology is both the unifier and the divider. It’s the ultimate snack-sized play.
The link between virtual and physical play is always sought but finally close to being delivered. This is the moment when it’s all coming together.
It’s very clear that both kids and parents are drawn to tech based play. Parents lack clarity in knowing when tech based play is good or bad – they want help and want to know more about the rules on how to guide.
The moment has come where tech and digital play has saturdated kids lives, more likely than to be done than any physical activity. 91& kids play some kind of video games regularly. 78% kids play some type of physical game regularly.
Tech devices serve many roles for kids and parents. Devices are used by parents as a babysitter, a pacifier. Pass-back. Parents know they’ve done it from an informed place – they know what the child is about to play.
For kids it helps kids and tweens stay connected with each other, perfect for solitary or group enjoyment.
But parents do have love / hate relationship. Parents told research they prefer kids to play in traditional play activities. They say they set rules around amount of digital play. But what they also tell research is that kids don’t know how to entertain themselves without technology or media. For parents, video games don’t count as ‘real play’.
Many parents used a term called ‘play play’ – parents say technology doesn’t allow for ‘play play’ to happen.
Self-guided play is taking a back-seat to scripted play. A memory of what parents did when they were young vs what kids are doing now. Parents are not seeing how creative a kid needs to be to survive in that world is key.
FAMILY PLAY
All family play is important to parents. Taking the time to family play is often more thought about than acted upon.
Today’s parents play more with their kids than with previous generations.
Parents and kids value family play – 56% say playing with parents is just as fun as playing with friends.
According to parents important play companions are first, then playing with family is important. This is also for kids – this research was up to the age of 17.
There are different types of parent play. Parents and kids versions of play can be different. Parents often ‘half play’. Encouragement can also lead to pressure.
Board games are still at the heart of family play. Parents and kids still want to interact. Then it’s different types of play with different types of family members.
Mom and dad are definitely different – mom is the connector, the social co-ordinator, the moderator, the care giver. Dad is the buddy, the techy, the coach, the softie. Research showed that moms are never the first point for fun!
There’s a desire for more parent, whole family and grandparent play. This is across the board in research.
THE PLAY BOOK
Parents and experts are worried:
- will imagination be a thing of the past?
- Will kids get and be more obese?
- Will brains fry with too much screen time
- How to fit in more family play?
- How do we get them outside
- How do we keep kids safe?
- How can kids take back control of play?
Play as fun
- too much focused on structured activities
- too many easy go-to activities that are not productive
- outdoor time lacking
- not enough interactivity and imagination.
Consumer needs
- opportunities for kids direction
- real world experiences
- healthier options
- creative expression
- more family connections
- ability to be transformed
- immediate gratification
- more merging of reality and digital
OPPORTUNITY
Take benefits of digital structured world of play. Bring it together with traditional unstructured play to take advantage of what’s needed for this kids. How to push these two things together?
THE PERFECT PLAY EXPERIENCE
- Physical activity
- Involvement of whole family
- Kids to call the shots and use imagination
- Connect to larger world
- Ease of use
- Safety
- Physical social emotional or creative benefits
- Needs to be fun.
