CULTURAL WELLNESS & FAMILY ENRICHMENT CENTER presents
A Documentary Film on Modern Childhood Asks
Where Do the Children Play?

A new documentary film, Where Do the Children Play?, examines an issue
of growing concern among pediatricians, mental health experts, educators, and environmentalists:
more and more children are growing up today with little or no opportunity for unstructured play,
especially outdoors.

The film will be shown at Mandala Tearoom
(SE corner of 5th Avenue & Goldwater in Oldtown Scottsdale)
August 24th, September 7th and September 14th @ 6:00pm.
Participants must RSVP, as seating is limited; RSVP @ 602.432.3707.
This event is free to the public and is sponsored by
The Cultural Wellness & Family Enrichment Center with assistance from the U.S. Alliance for Childhood, a nonprofit research and advocacy group that works
for the restoration of play in children's lives.

Where Do the Children Play? grew out of Elizabeth Goodenough's work on
"secret spaces of childhood" at the University of Michigan. The film was written and directed by Christopher Cook and produced by Michigan Television.

"Children need free time every day to discover their own abilities, desires, and limitations," says Goodenough, who also edited the film's accompanying study guide. "Open-ended exploration and
play in woods, fields, vacant lots, or other semi-wild spaces enhances curiosity and confidence
throughout life."

A marked decline in children's spontaneous and creative play is a key factor in their increasing
mental health problems, according to a recent statement from an international group of educators and children's advocates. They called for "a wide-ranging and informed public dialogue about the intrinsic nature and value of play in children's healthy development."

Their letter echoed a recent warning from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP):
children have far too little time for unstructured play, which leads to increased stress in their lives.
Causes of the demise of play cited by the group include parental fears of "stranger danger" and the explosion of electronic entertainment-to the point of addiction for some-in the lives of today's children. These and other issues are explored in the film.

The lead author of the AAP report, Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, appears in the documentary, along with Richard Louv, author of Last Child in the Woods, British "playworker" Penny Wilson, and other experts in child development, psychology, and urban planning.

Most striking, however, are the scenes of children themselves engaged in the rapt state of
self-directed play and then talking about the importance of time and opportunity for free play
in their increasingly hectic lives.

For more information about this screening of Where Do the Children Play?
Call, 602.432.3707.

Where Do the Children Play? is part of a larger outreach project developed by
Elizabeth Goodenough and based at the University of Michigan that includes a web site (www.michigantelevision.org/childrenplay); a study guide to the film; a Flint, Michigan community conversation called "Secret Spaces/Childhood Places"; and Professor Jeff Kupperman's work with
youth videographers. Support for the documentary and related activities was provided by
the Ruth Mott Foundation. Additional support for the documentary was provided by the
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan Foundation and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation.

The Alliance for Childhood is helping to promote Where Do the Children Play? as part of its
national public awareness campaign, "Restoring Children's Play." The Alliance is helping cities across
the country to form local play coalitions to address issues of access to open-ended play and playful environments for all children. It is also introducing "playwork," an established profession in Europe and Japan, to the United States. Trained playworkers encourage and support children's free play without dominating or directing it. For more information see the Alliance's web site,
www.allianceforchildhood.org.

Contact: Vanessa Chamberlain, 602.432.3707, info@culturalwellness.org

Additional contacts:
Elizabeth Goodenough, film advisor and outreach director: lizgoode@umich.edu
Christopher Cook, film director and writer: cook@metrocominternational.com
Alliance for Childhood: pam@allianceforchildhood.org; 301-779-1033

Where do the Children Play fact sheet.

Childhood Wellness Project