Where Do the Children Play? A Study Guide to the Film
Goodenough, Elizabeth (ed.) (2007).
Michigan: Michigan Television; ISBN 9781425589332.
The book, Where Do the Children Play? edited by Elizabeth Goodenough brings to life behind-the-scene details and stories that sprouted from making the documentary film Where Do the Children Play? [See accompanying film and companion book review.] Both the book and the documentary offer insight on the consequences of our increased alienation from nature and free play, which have profound emotional and physical impacts—especially for children. In essence, the book and film are a call for change, challenging communities of all kinds to rethink the policy issues that “need to be faced in relation to children’s outdoor activities and their health and wellbeing” (xvi).
Goodenough brings to life dozens of voices throughout this book, capturing discussions from details of making the documentary film to exposing how adventure playgrounds might better include children of all abilities.
Goodenough strategically structures the book into eight sections, each building upon a distinct message to highlight the changing relationship between children and play, especially play in the natural world.
In Section I, “Making a Documentary Film,” Christopher Cook admits that Where Do the Children Play was one of the most difficult films he has ever worked on, shedding light on the challenges of capturing the intimate stories of children. Others who worked on the film also contribute to this section, giving readers a sense how it felt on the set with fourth graders. Section II, entitled the “Back Story on Play,” offers an historical lens on the changing nature of play, highlighting how our litigious and fear-laden society has prohibited spur-of-the-moment and unstructured fun. It is this type of spontaneous play, the writers argue, that is profoundly important for childhood development and overall wellbeing. Sections III and IV investigate the spaces that children create and use—from designing their own city with rollercoasters and waterslides as modes of transportation to children’s perceptions of hazards that prevent them from walking or biking to school. These sections are a delight for the reader, as they discuss and illustrate the intimate relationship children build with each other and their various environments. Take Jacoby Simmons’ (a college student interested in music production) description about “The Neutral Zone,” which is a place for “regular teens” to discover and explore “who they are and what they want in a safe place.” These vignettes remind us that these special places may be going extinct—impacting different populations of youth in various ways.
Section V, “Remote-Controlled Childhood,” examines current trends depicting the disturbing symptoms of de-natured youth. In this section, writers discuss the educational, developmental and social impacts of programmed play and electronic entertainment. Edward Miller reports that today the average U.S. child sits in front of a screen for four to five hours per day, and Susan Linn discusses how creative play has become “endangered,” having profound psychological impacts on young people. While reading this section of the book, I could not help but dive back into my own research findings from a two-year study completed with children living in urban Denver. Not surprisingly, I found that a majority of the children I interviewed were not only overscheduled (think club soccer, piano lessons, special writing classes, etc.), but the little free time they did have was spent in front of a screen. These findings as well as the research explored in this section of the book suggest that children, growing up wealthy, industrialized settings, are leading busier, more structured lives than ever before—leaving little time for free, unstructured and spontaneous play, especially outside.
Yet, just as readers may feel overwhelmed by multiple hurdles, the writers in sections VI, “Bringing Back Play” and Section VII, “Places Families Grow” offer relief by providing a myriad of examples of how our communities can foster play and the nature-child reunion. As the book’s approach shifts to resolutions, there is a gentle sense of urgency for adults to “go outside with your children, watch them, join them, and you will remember how and where to play” (171). Such reminders exemplify the book’s broad intentions of not only improving the relationship between children and nature, but the sense of wonder that exists between all humans and their environments. The book concludes with section VIII, “The World Is Round So Let it Spin,” which highlights children’s drawings, poems and haikus that make you feel that the world is alive with emotion and beauty.
In all, this book subtly invites its readers to reminisce upon their own childhood experiences. Reading the children’s poems at the end of the book certainly made me think of “hemlock lane,” my special fort in a large hemlock tree I found while scavenging around my neighborhood. Such memories that surface while reading successfully set the stage for a drastic juxtaposition between our early positive memories in nature and today’s de-natured and programmed child, begging the readers to ask in the early chapters of the book: How did our children end up this way? Thus, perhaps the success of this book stems from the writers’ abilities to capitalize on the childhood nature memories of their readers, allowing each reader to engage in their own personal testimony of change. Even if many readers (including myself) are currently overscheduled and/or addicted to their computer screens, they reminisce about after-school hours spent in free-range play in backyard tree forts and fern filled fields abutting school grounds. While this kind of romanticization of childhood is explicit throughout the book, it succeeds in pushing readers to feel a sense of loss for today’s young people and maybe even for themselves. More important than feelings of loss, the book inspires change in motivated adults who are concerned with the health of today’s children and the planet.
Reviewer Information
Susie Strife just completed her Ph.D. in environmental studies at the University of Colorado Boulder with a focus on environmental sociology. Her dissertation research explored children’s environmental concerns and relationship with nature. Susie currently teaches undergraduate classes on Sustainability at CU and works full time for the Boulder County Commissioners as their Sustainability Education and Outreach Specialist.