‘Active play’ for physical health? Problematising public health discourses about play through Canadian children’s photo-elicited narratives about playing

Background In many Western, industrialised countries, there are growing concerns that children are no longer playing ‘the way they used to’ and Canadian public health institutions suggest that a decline in play may have adverse health consequences for children. For instance, a continued increase in obesity among children and youth is predicted based on fears around the transformation of play and the overall reduction of what has been termed ‘active play’. Informed by these debates, public health institutions in Canada have recently begun to advance active forms of play as part of on-going anti-obesity efforts and as a novel way of increasing children’s physical activity levels. What is problematic with this approach, however, is that such efforts do not take into account children’s diverse perspectives on play, and that promoting play primarily for physical health may thus be reshaping meanings of play for children. Methods This qualitative study involved both photography and interview sessions with 25 children aged 7 to 11 years living in Montréal, Canada. Children were asked to take photographs of what they considered play and to talk about their photographs as well as about any ideas and preferences they had for various play activities. Results Our findings suggest that: (a) for children, play is an emotionally salient end in itself, and not a productive means to a health end; (b) for children, play involves, but is much more than, forms of ‘active play’; (c) children appear to be ambivalent about scheduled forms of active play; and lastly, (d) elements of risk are considered to be a pleasurable component of children’s play activities. Conclusions These findings point to a dissonance between the forms of active play promoted for physical health within Canadian public health institutions, and the meanings children attribute to their play as emotionally contingent, intrinsically motivated, and purposeless. This highlights the need to question the growing discourse on ‘active play’ emerging within public health. The findings also emphasise that children’s perspectives are an important form of knowledge to consider, particularly when addressing their social and leisure lives. Key messages This work highlights how values of physical health and productivity are advanced in public health practices and interventions aimed at children’s leisure activities. As children’s experiences are largely omitted form this public health discourse, this work underscores the need to include children’s perspectives on issues that concern their own lives.

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