Opinion: In my view - Protecting true play

It was this central concern that motivated writer Sue Palmer and I to co-organise the two 'Open Letters' on childhood that appeared in the media this and last autumn. Our letter highlighted the need for 'a wide-ranging and informed public dialogue about the intrinsic nature and value of play'. For while we all routinely talk about play, do we really understand its deep nature? Might the utilitarian, 'instrumentalist' mind-set that so dominates modern life unwittingly make...