As a playwork tutor, I am constantly asked for ideas and activities on how to entertain boys. While access to playgrounds, gardens and fields is important for all children attending out-of-school care, boys in particular tend to get frustrated if they are unable to go outside.
When I was running a club myself, I remember how the weather and dark winter nights had a direct impact on the activities that we could do. The most popular activities that boys enjoyed were football, cricket, rounders, and the games British Bulldog (see page 11) and Hide and Seek. Fortunately, we had access to a large room that was made safe for most ball games and this alleviated the problem to a certain extent, allowing the boys (and girls) to let off steam.
Becky, a playworker at Bobbins After School and Holiday Club in Suffolk, says, 'Lots of boys like the physical aspect - running around - and we are limited by our outside play equipment. But we try to organise it so that all children go outside for at least half an hour each day when they attend the after-school sessions.'
George, aged eight, who attends Bobbins pointed out, 'Sometimes the parents come in to collect us when we are about to go outside which can be quite annoying!'
But Laurie, aged nine, added, 'I would like to go outside more often, but there are lots of things I can do here (inside) that I can't do at home.'
When I asked the boys what they most enjoyed doing at the club they named the game Stuck in Mud (see page 11), going on the slide and riding bikes.
Research evidence
Some research carried out in 1999 by Brunel University in collaboration with Kids' Clubs Network entitled Child Centred After School and Holiday Childcare, found that football and other outside games were central to boys' enjoyment of out-of-school clubs. The researchers interviewed 300 children, with equal numbers of boys and girls, between the ages of four and 11 years old. Whereas the boys tended to focus on outdoor physical games, the girls were much more likely to enjoy a wider range of activities such as reading, drawing, crafts, singing, dancing and listening to music.
'We have a football team called Rangers,' said nine-year-old Darren from an inner city club.
'I like going on the pedal carts,' said another boy of the same age. And a third liked, 'playing monsters outside. It's a playground game. People have to avoid getting stuck in the dungeon.'
So, what if your club doesn't have its own outside area? Are your boys doomed to boredom? Not necessarily. Find out what outdoor space is available locally. Where is the nearest park? Are there playgrounds that you can use? Check with the park warden or local school, get any necessary permission and make sure that the area is safe - particularly any public areas which may have broken bottles or dog fouling.
Mixed or separate?
It is not a good idea to have separate activities for boys and girls as children should be encouraged to mix. A playworker's role is to enable all children to enjoy the same range of choices in play activities. To give you one example, I remember taking my sewing machine into our club as some of the girls had suggested they would like to try it out. Well, the boys ended up spending more time on it than the girls - although I have to say they particularly enjoyed the speed factor!
When I talked to some boys at the Bobbins Club about how they felt about playing with girls, one eight-year-old boy said, 'Sometimes it gets more interesting than just boys playing together.'
Sam, a playworker at the club, commented, 'Boys and girls do play with different things. The boys enjoy Lego and playing with the sand, but they also like group games such as card games, Monopoly and Game of Life.'
Jennie Lindon in her book Growing up - age eight to young adulthood (published by the National Children's Bureau 2001, tel: 020 7843 6000, price 14) states that, 'By eight years of age, children can be very aware that some games are generally regarded as more for one sex than the other. Schools, after-school and holiday schemes, and some families, may try hard to work against this view. However, there are still enough adults who take the view that some games are more appropriate for one sex than the other. Hence, some children and young people will bring these views to their play and organised games.
'The strength of adults who want a more equal approach to games playing is that they can create opportunities for mixed-sex games. They may also have given children enough confidence to deal with the potential difficulties of stepping across a gender barrier.'
More men needed
What the Brunel University research also highlighted was the views of boys and girls towards playworkers. Some boys thought that the staff treated girls and boys differently and many of the boys interviewed wished that there were more male playworkers. For example, one extreme view from a ten-year-old boy was, 'They treat girls differently, and they treat boys like they are things that don't belong here.' Employing more men in the sector would be beneficial to both boys and girls, many of whom lack male role models.
