UK-based Persil, a Unilever brand, emphasizes the importance of childhood play.

Childhood as we know it is over and children of future generations could enter adulthood lacking vital life and social skills because of a lack of ‘free’ play, according to a study released by Persil.

The global report, which marks the launch of Persil’s Every Child Has The Right campaign, was conducted in conjunction with leading experts in youth development and highlights the erosion of childhood. The report found 85% of UK mums are concerned that children are growing up too quickly and 64% believe children are being deprived of childhood through the lack of free play.

In response to this study, Persil as part of the Every Child Has The Right campaign is launching its Free Play Initiative 2008, a nationwide scheme aimed at helping parents find inspirational ways for their children to express themselves through imaginative, unstructured play. This culminates in the support of Playday, the national annual celebration of children’s right to play, on 6 August 2008.

Did you know?

Free play helps the following areas of children’s development:

• Boosts their imagination and creativity
• Improves language and expression
• Helps them stay active and prevents obesity
• Reduces stress
• Helps raise self-confidence
• Increases emotional development and social skills for later on in life

As a guideline it’s recommended that parents should try to make one hour a day of active, ideally outdoor play for all children. They need little structure or encouragement because children are naturally active. They just need the time, permission and the right space.

To help your kids get the most out of their play time, the Free Play Initiative focuses on five areas within play that can help a child’s development - Play, Explore, Create, Imagine and Experiment.

To find out more about the Persil Free Play initiative 2008, Playday 2008 on 6th August, build a scrapbook to document your summer holiday of free play.