Children say yes to play in Tararua

Aria managed five hula hoops at a time.

"Children play less than they used to," according to Sport Manawatu's play adviser Whitney Le Comte and apparently it is nationwide.

She says this reflects the reduced amount of free time to play because working parents have more structured programmes for their children, health and safety rules are restricting what were once freedoms their parents had growing up, as much as the lure of digital devices.

During National Play Week November 15-19 Sport Manawatu has been visiting various towns with a pop-up trailer full of items for children to experiment with by just playing. On Tuesday it was Feilding, on Wednesday it was Dannevirke and Thursday Palmerston North.

Children swarmed in to try out the new Pop-Up Play trailer's goodies on November 17 at Dannevirke Domain.

Whitney says children are less able to build their own play activities these days because of a lack of opportunity and so the trailer does not come with structured programmes. She wants them to use their imagination to create games and group activities.

Wednesday was the new trailer's first outing, built by Tony Peeti Engineering in Dannevirke. Tararua recreation adviser for Sport Manawatu Leah Sole had been busy filling it with a whole range of items from hula hoops to drums and bits of wood.

When the children arrived after school on Wednesday they initially began to try out the items as laid out but then began to trial different structures to "make it fun".

Leah said it was good to see parents and grandparents there because Sport Manawatu wants their help to give children a chance to play "as they used to when they were young".

Six other sports providers were also helping provide play opportunities throughout Manawatu one of them being Dannevirke's Waisplash which ran a session with a rocket and paddleboats on Friday afternoon after school attracting 30 children.

Two Tararua councillors with experience in sports, deputy mayor Reena Peeti-Weber (Activate Gym) and councillor Raewyn Treder (who has helped build Pahiatua's play area), were both present in Dannevirke on Wednesday to see how the children reacted and were impressed.

The trailer is free to hire by any organisation including businesses and schools or any function including birthday parties and markets. Contact Sport Manawatu.