EVERY CHILD HAS A UNIVERSAL RIGHT TO PLAY—PLAY IS ESSENTIAL & VALUABLE.

THE PRINCIPLES OF PLAY
1. Play is essential and valuable in its own right and for children’s learning and development: every child has a right to have play in their life.
2. Every child has a right to a balance of play experiences that develop a healthy mind and body and a sense of wellbeing.
3. Play builds each child’s capacity for communication and develops language and thinking skills.
4. Through play, children develop a sense of self and the emotional and social competence to participate in relationships.
5. Play connects children to their world, their cultural identities, to others and to other ways of knowing, doing and being.
6. Children’s right to play is our collective responsibility and all adults have a role in understanding, protecting and valuing the importance of play for every child, in every community.