In Manikganj, a small child points to the spot where a beloved mango tree, perfect for climbing and sharing secrets, once stood proudly. Where, now, only the swirling, hungry waters of the Padma river. In drought-stricken Naogaon, another group of children kick up dust in a cracked and barren field that was once a vivid green playground.
Their naive inquiry hangs in the air: “When will the rain return and the temperature drop so we can play again?”
As we celebrate the International Day of Play, these forgotten times bring to light an important reality: “Free play in nature” -- those unplanned adventures where children lead the way -- is far more than just entertainment. They create a critical route for development, and the first step to resilience. It highlights the inherent motivation of these young children, who remain remarkably strong and navigate their changing surroundings to find a way to do what gives them happiness- play.
Consider Amina, who enjoys playing with clay by the eroding riverbank in Manikganj. When playing with clay, she is not just making a pot; she is problem-solving, learning patience, and enjoying the process of making something real. This focused creation in an unpredictable environment teaches her powerful lessons in being adaptable and flexible.
Another example is the bridge that Karim and his friends created out of a fallen log. As they work together to find a way over, by taking turns and balancing each other, they are learning to be sociable, confident with their bodies, and more skilled at negotiating, communicating, and trusting one another. The natural world is, in fact, where children learn most effectively.
Forging strength from the wild
For Amina, moulding clay is all about taking charge to create something with her own hands. For others in Naogaon, excavating in the moist ground to create miniature dams in their play gives them a first-hand look at how nature works. And let’s not forget the animals that share these spaces, for they play a vital role too.
Spending time with animals fosters empathy. Animals teach children about life cycles and the responsibilities that come with caring for others. This peaceful bond promotes emotional intelligence and a respect for life that screens simply cannot provide. These experiences are further enriched by the lessons children learn from exploring the physical world around them.
Similarly, climbing trees or navigating through wild grasses does more than just build physical skills. Children grow to trust their instincts, assess risks, and cooperate. Sadly, these priceless natural areas for development are under increasing threat.
Playgrounds under siege
The heart-breaking events from Manikganj and Naogaon -- where beloved play areas have disappeared -- are not isolated incidents; they draw attention to a much broader problem.
Natural classrooms are being robbed by climate change. Disappearing riverbanks means losing known play areas -- the banks where they used to play and the trees they used to climb.
Likewise, drought in other areas turns rich fields into barren wastelands. Natural disasters, such as the floods in 2024, disrupted education for 33 million children but also washed away countless natural playgrounds, taking with them opportunities for growth and healing in nature. The very places where children naturally learn resilience are fading away.
While rural children face the direct loss of these natural playgrounds, their urban peers struggle with a different but equally concerning kind of deprivation.
The urban contrast: A different kind of deprivation
In the lively streets of the cities, apartments have taken the place of open fields. Green spaces are disappearing, swallowed up by concrete. A study by the Institute for Planning and Development (IPD) found that Dhaka is short of 795 playgrounds, with significant deficiencies also in Chittagong (541), Khulna (65), Barishal (45), Sylhet (40), and Rajshahi (37) to meet urban planning standards. Here, childhood often unfolds behind closed doors, with the sound of keyboards replacing the melodies of nature.
Playtime in the city is frequently scheduled and confined indoors. Instead of having the freedom to explore the outdoors and connect with nature using all their senses, children are increasingly stuck interacting with screens. This “nature deficit” not only affects their health but also stunts the resilience-building skills that come from being in the wild. Moreover, children migrating from rural areas affected by climate change often lose the comfort of nature just when they need it the most. This escalating crisis calls for an urgent and united response.
Our children, our future
Even in the face of adversity, the sound of a child laughing while playing serves as a beautiful reminder of unwavering hope. On this day, let's pledge to protect and encourage play, especially in natural settings. This is a significant investment in Bangladesh's future and a fundamental right for all children. With this in mind, we need to act collectively, with determination and through a well-rounded approach.
Suggestions for the future
- Play as a priority: Ensuring children have access to safe, natural play areas should be at the forefront of all strategies for adapting to climate change, recovering from disasters, and developing more resilient cities. In terms of a community's well-being, playgrounds are just as important as roadways.
- Innovative nature-based solutions: We need to advocate for and invest in playgrounds that can withstand environmental challenges. Pocket parks, filled with native resilient plants, can help with climate adaption by mitigating urban heat island effects and improving air quality. These parks also aid in local water management and promote children's play-based development, fostering community resilience to climate change and encouraging environmental stewardship. Planting gardens at schools gives children daily opportunities to be outside, encourages them to be good stewards of the environment, and has small-scale ecological benefits, including helping the pollinators. Community resilience to climate change and children's play-based development are two sides of the same coin with these solutions.
- Child-centric design: Children are the true experts when it comes to play. To ensure that playgrounds are liked, used, maintained and truly satisfy their needs, it is crucial that their opinions, ideas, and preferences are prioritized during the design and development processes.
- Bridging the urban-rural divide: Every child, from wherever they live, should have access to nature to help to close the urban-rural divide. This requires rigorous application of rules for green areas in newly constructed cities as well as creative approaches to include natural play elements into already existing urban environments.
- Cultivating a culture of play: In order to foster an atmosphere that encourages play, it is essential that everyone do their share. Families, communities, schools, governments, practitioners and NGOs must all work together to promote play and its many benefits.
The challenges that our children face are immense. But the resilience they build today through unstructured play with earth, water, plants and animals will be their greatest assets in the future.
Hamidah Ashrafi Fateha is an architect and researcher at Brac Institute of Educational Development.
