The Importance of Play and Leisure

Play is crucial for development and well-being. It's intrinsically motivated, pleasurable, and actively engaging.

Meaningful unpaid activities, like hobbies, sports, or travel. Usually associated with adults.

Outdoor play areas for children are decreasing, often replaced by adult-controlled environments.

Media use can potentially replace traditional play, reducing children's personal experiences.

Structured leisure activities aimed at developing skills for adulthood.

Children have a right to leisure, play, and cultural activities.

Safety concerns often limit children's outdoor and unsupervised play. This creates restrictions on children's freedom.

Urban areas often prioritize vehicles over child-friendly spaces, reducing potential play areas.

A child, youth, or young adult who provides care and support to a family member with a condition like frailty, illness, or disability.

Young caregivers may provide emotional support, practical tasks like childcare or household chores, and administrative support like scheduling appointments.

Young caregivers often don't recognize themselves as caregivers, seeing it as a natural family duty. Stigma and fear of mistreatment can also discourage them from disclosing.

Young caregivers can experience mental health risks like anxiety and stress due to the demands of caregiving, lack of recognition, and difficulty balancing responsibilities.

Young caregivers often dedicate 14-27 hours a week to caregiving, equivalent to a part-time job, adding pressure to their lives.

Child labour refers to harmful or exploitative work, often in dangerous conditions, especially for children under 12. Child work, on the other hand, involves light, non-exploitative tasks that are not harmful to the child, such as chores or babysitting.

Child labour is most prevalent in Africa, with one in four children aged 5-14 engaged in it. Globally, one in ten children is involved in child labour.

Poverty, caregiver illness or loss of income, and informal sector work encouraged by parents often lead to child labour.

Young caregivers perform monitoring, maintenance, and management tasks, putting in an average of 14-27 hours per week, equivalent to a part-time job.

Caregiving tasks often lead to stress, anxiety, and lack of recognition for young caregivers.

Girls are disproportionately affected by child labour, facing the "triple burden" of school, work, and household chores. Domestic work, often overlooked, contributes to this burden.

Girls involved in child labour are at higher risk of poverty, exclusion from education, and other social and economic disadvantages.

Some children view work as a source of independence, financial support for their families, and a way to escape boredom. They value fair pay, respect, recognition, and safe working conditions.

Health is shaped by social, historical, and cultural factors, making it subjective and not just a biological state.

Health is approached objectively and normatively, focusing on measurable physical and mental illness.

Children are recognized as knowledgeable about their health experiences, even in serious illness.

Disability is caused by societal barriers and lack of accessibility, not the individual's impairment.

Children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds receive faster diagnoses, better treatments, and ongoing advocacy.

Obesity rates are rising globally, with social factors contributing to the issue.

One out of seven adolescents faces mental health issues, with LGBTQ+ youth and those with disabilities facing greater challenges.

Depression rates are higher in females, while males have higher suicide rates, highlighting gender disparities in mental health.