Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk: digital media restrict free play

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According to a Forsa survey commissioned by the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, there is a clear culprit as to why kindergarten and primary school children are unable to motivate and inspire themselves for analog creative activities in their free time: the constant availability of digital media. According to Holger Hoffmann, Federal Managing Director of the Deutsches Kinderhilfswerk, this is a problem: "Children come into contact with the world through their senses from the very beginning and want to help shape it in a playful way." Not only should this be encouraged, but according to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children also have a right to free play. In order to guarantee this, adults need to take action.

The world as we shape it

The children's charity is drawing attention to the issue in view of the International Day of Play on June 11. In the run-up to the event, it commissioned Forsa to conduct a representative survey of 1001 citizens aged 18 and over in Germany from April 14 to 16, 2025. According to the survey, only 51% of respondents believe that children today have enough time and opportunities to pursue creative activities outside of nursery and elementary school. In contrast, 41% do not think so.

There can be many reasons for this. However, respondents were most unanimous in their assessment of digital media. 81% believe that their constant availability makes it difficult for children to motivate themselves to engage in analog creative activities. 75% of respondents believe that one possible reason for this is that many parents do not provide their children with sufficient support for creative activities or do not give them enough enjoyment. And 61% of respondents cite financial restrictions as a possible obstacle. Slightly less than half – 45% – say that a possible factor could also be that children now spend a large part of their day at nursery and school. This puts a different strain on them. Finally, 38 percent believe that there are too few attractive and easily accessible opportunities for children to play freely.

Holger Hofmann derives a clear task from the survey results: "We adults must ensure that [children] are given sufficient space and time to playfully engage with their environment and their own artistic expression." This also strengthens their self-efficacy, individual development and creates an experience of community. According to Article 31 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children have the right to free play. This also means that they are allowed to live out their "natural need to play", "without external constraints and guidelines". It is important that they come into contact with a wide range of art, culture, play and media at an early age. And Hofmann emphasizes: "Cultural participation is particularly important for financially disadvantaged children, because the experience of self-efficacy develops the necessary resilience to deal with poverty".

Creating more time for free play

The majority of respondents would like to see more free play in elementary school –, especially in all-day classes –. 89% of them would find a corresponding redesign very good (55%) or somewhat good (34%). Only 8 percent would find this less or not at all good.

When asked about the importance of different types of free play for children of nursery and primary school age, the respondents were quite unanimous. With only a small lead of one or two percentage points, sporting activities were voted top by 97%, who rated them as "very important" or "fairly important". This was followed by creative activities such as painting, arts and crafts, drama or making music, which were rated as "very important" or "fairly important" by 96%. When it comes to free play, 95 percent see it that way. Due to the margin of error of -/+ three percentage points allowed by Forsa, a split winner's podium can be drawn up for all three "types of play".

World Gaming Day on June 11

This year, the German Children's Fund's motto for World Play Day on June 11 is "Let's play – with all our senses!" Together with its partners in the "Right to Play Alliance", it wants to draw attention to the link between play and culture. The ambassador for World Play Day 2025 is TV presenter and author Ralph Caspers. The German Bundestag's Committee on Education, Family, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has assumed patronage of World Play Day.

(kbe)