A "No Ball Games" culture means outdoor play is being "squeezed out" of children's lives, according to a major new report.
And there are calls on the government to review the use of these signs in community spaces, saying this would help address a growing national obesity crisis and improve children's happiness levels.
'Hostile culture'
The Raising the Nation Play Commission, in its interim report on why play is critical to the wellbeing of children in England, said that the "brazen" use of "No Ball Games" signs in communal spaces is creating a "culture hostile to young people". And "almost one in three parents" now think "allowing their child to play outside would trigger complaints from neighbours".
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The commission, which took oral evidence from 55 experts, analysed 150 pieces of written testimony and conducted focus groups with schoolchildren, also found that outside play was adversely affected by fears about safety, crime and traffic, and the "distractions and demands" of smartphones, social media and gaming, said The Telegraph.
As a result, today's children, compared to previous generations, are "spending less time outdoors, less time with their friends and less time playing", said the report.
'Low activity levels'
This is not the first time the issue has been raised: in 2022, a Save the Children survey revealed that only one in four children play out regularly in their street, compared to 80% just two generations ago. One-third of the children surveyed said they had been told to stop making noise outside.
Even Banksy has weighed in on the issue, spray-painting a mural (pictured above) of two children playing "catch" with a "No Ball Games" sign onto a wall in Tottenham, north London, in 2009.
Last year, the London Sport charity called for "No Ball Games" signs to be taken down, to encourage children to be more active. Noting that half of the five-to-16 age group in the capital are not exercising enough, it called on London mayoral candidates to take steps to "create more spaces for children to be active", said the BBC.
But access to sport and physical activity is "a social justice issue" that "depends on location and financial circumstances", said Shrehan Lynch, a senior lecturer in sport at the University of East London, on The Conversation. "While we can burn all the 'No Ball Games' signs, the real barrier to combating low activity levels in children is social inequality.
