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16. ‘We Stayed Home and Found New Ways to Play’: A Study of Playfulness, Creativity and Resilience in Australian Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic

  • Judy McKinty (author)
  • Ruth Hazleton (author)
  • Danni von der Borch (author)
Chapter of: Play in a Covid Frame: Everyday Pandemic Creativity in a Time of Isolation(pp. 343–370)

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Metadata
Title16. ‘We Stayed Home and Found New Ways to Play’
SubtitleA Study of Playfulness, Creativity and Resilience in Australian Children during the Covid-19 Pandemic
ContributorJudy McKinty (author)
Ruth Hazleton (author)
Danni von der Borch (author)
DOIhttps://doi.org/10.11647/OBP.0326.16
Landing pagehttps://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0326/chapters/10.11647/obp.0326.16
Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
CopyrightMcKinty, Judy; Hazleton, Ruth; von der Borch, Danni;
PublisherOpen Book Publishers
Published on2023-06-01
Long abstractIn 2020 the familiar, everyday routines of people's lives were turned upside-down, seemingly overnight, as the Covid-19 pandemic swept around the globe. Schools and businesses closed and holidays were spent at home under lockdown, with 'stay-at-home' restrictions significantly affecting the way children could play. In response to the upheaval in children's lives, the Pandemic Play Project began. An independent, online research study using a folkloristic approach, the project aimed to document the effects of the coronavirus pandemic on the play lives of Australian children. Key findings from the project relate to the important role of adults in helping children stay playful during lockdown, children's creativity, imagination and resourcefulness in their play, and how traditional forms of play were adapted to accommodate and incorporate personal experiences, fears and social changes associated with the pandemic, particularly in the digital world which became a lifeline for many children during the lockdowns. Opportunities for play depended on where children lived and their ability to access resources. Children with backyards played outside and built cubbies but for families shut in cramped high-rise public housing, with no access to outdoor playing spaces, lockdown was a nightmare. This chapter describes some of the ways children were able to remain playful during the long months of lockdown and the determination of adults to support their well-being through play
Page rangepp. 343–370
Print length28 pages
LanguageEnglish (Original)
Keywords
  • Covid-19 Pandemic
  • Play Lives
  • Children
  • Pandemic Play Project
  • Folkloristic Approach
  • Adults' Role
  • Creativity
  • Imagination
  • Resourcefulness
  • Traditional Play
  • Adaptation
  • Digital World
  • Access to Resources
  • Backyards
  • Cubbies
  • High-rise Public Housing
  • Lockdown
  • Well-being
  • Playful Coping Strategies
  • Australian Children
Contributors

Judy McKinty

(author)

Judy McKinty is an independent children's play researcher, based in Melbourne, Australia, with a special interest in children's folklore and traditional games. Her work includes the study of play in schools; string games workshops; an Aboriginal children's play oral history project with Dr June Factor and field research for Childhood, Tradition and Change, a four-year national study of play funded by the Australian Research Council. She has a master of cultural heritage from Deakin University and is an honorary associate of Museums Victoria and a life member of Play Australia. From mid-2020 she researched children's play during the pandemic with Ruth Hazleton.

Ruth Hazleton

(author)
Oral History Interviewer at National Library of Australia

Ruth Hazleton is an independent academic, oral historian and folklorist based in Melbourne, Australia, with a special interest in children's folklore and traditional play. Ruth conducted field research for Childhood, Tradition and Change, a four-year national study of play funded by the Australian Research Council, and has published work related to children’s folklore, Australian folklife and traditional music. She has a graduate diploma in Australian Folklife Studies (Curtin) and currently works as an oral history interviewer for the National Library of Australia. Ruth is also a musician and songwriter with an extensive career in the performance of traditional and original song.

Danni von der Borch

(author)

Danielle von der Borch has been a playworker at the Venny since 2001. The Venny was established in 1981 in Melbourne, Australia, as a communal backyard for children in public housing and local community. Currently in the role of director of play and programmes, Danni has a deep commitment to the protection of free play and the child’s right to freedom and belonging. A graduate of Victorian College of the Arts, her creative practices inform her work and she engages with a therapeutic intention while working with vulnerable children. Danni has an MA in Creative Art Therapy, MIECAT Institute, and is also a performer, previously with Rawcus Theatre, 2009-2022.

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