Within Earshot

The way we live is shaped in many ways by the distance that sound travels. Sport, physical activity and play are no different.

Cricket commentators tell us how the loud roar of the crowd can make it difficult for umpires to hear thin edges in a full stadium (thanks Snicko). Having umpired a few matches myself, I can tell you that umpiring can be tough enough even without a single spectator (and only a few stray dogs and cattle) in the vicinity. Similarly, batters may struggle to hear each other's calls for a run (yes, no, sorry, didn't hear you, see you later).

But, have you thought about how the distance of sound impacts how - and how much - kids play?

Play is a fundamental source of human development. Unstructured play helps our young understand their environment, experiment with it, take risks and learn from the results. 

For instance, 'onlooker play' is a stage of childhood development in which a child watches other children or adults play without joining in. They will observe from a guarded distance, and try and figure out what's going on - how others conduct themselves, what rules are being followed, and how disputes are dealt with. It helps them understand how the world around them works, learn social cues and can also be a precursor to them deciding whether and when to transition to participant. 

Onlooker play is common among toddlers and young kids but is also present in children of all ages (anecdotally, also in some multi-decade-old kids). The next time you're playing around little ones who seem reluctant to join you, maybe they're doing just fine as onlookers.

The other - experimental and risk taking - role of play involves a child actively playing, and testing boundaries and limits of different sorts while at it. This can be with an adult-guardian present, but often takes place without one in immediate sight. This is where being 'within earshot' plays a crucial role. 

Kids need much more play time than the average adult is able to dedicate to them as a direct supervisor or playmate. This means unsupervised play is inevitable - and perhaps even healthy. Nonetheless, a parent or adult being available close by can give comfort to both.

The adult remains confident that the child's safety needs are being taken care of and the child is willing to experiment and take risks, knowing help is just a call away. 

Any experienced parent working within earshot of their child will tell you that prolonged silences are bigger red flags than regular, loud sounds. The child being able to call for help and the adult being able check on the child every now and then reinforces the child-guardian relationship.

Being out of earshot - at a distance beyond which sound naturally travels - can fundamentally change this equation and the acts of play.

Jonathan Haidt writes powerfully - in his recent book The Anxious Generation - on how our young are (unfortunately) taking fewer risks in real world play and taking greater (usually unsupervised) risks in the digital world, both to their personal detriment. He sees it as a contributing factor to the growing mental health challenges our youth are encountering.

As the locations, quantities and types of play change (especially, in our busy lives and rapid urban development journeys), this is going to continue to impact the ways we develop as humans.

You can't hear children in the playground from the 27th floor of an apartment building. Structured play within exclusive (and 'safe') sports academies instead of on the ('unsafe') streets and open playfields leaves little room for both onlooker and experimental play. The loss is at both individual and societal levels.

Those with socio-economic privileges try and make alternative arrangements. Maids accompany kids to play areas, kid-safety watches have SOS buttons, security guards and cameras are deployed, unstructured play makes way for football and cricket classes, unsupervised digital consumption eats into the child's playtime. The loss may seem notional - even imperceptible - but it is real.

There are many reasons why our young are struggling to understand the world they populate, to build resilience and to deal with its challenges.

In our changing world, how can we consciously get better at enabling more unstructured play? I'd love to hear what you think.