BBC : Hop, Skip and Jump: The Story of Children's Play (2009)

Two-part series which tells the story of children's outdoor games in 20th-century Britain begins by looking at British children at play between the 1900s and the mid-1950s.
Part 1 : The Great Outdoors –-> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00p8lhr

It is a journey into a secret world of adventure and imagination that blossomed in the nation's streets, back alleys and playgrounds. The children's songs and games were passed down from one generation to the next and remain an abiding memory for most grown-ups. Playing on the streets was the defining feature of a working class childhood.

But the freedom they enjoyed meant they often got into trouble; none more so than the tribal gangs of boys who named themselves after the places where they lived. The programme highlights how children's play varied between city and country, between the different social classes and between boys and girls.

First Broadcast : Tue 8 Dec 2009, 21:00, BBC Four.
Part 2 : Moving Indoors –-> http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00pf049

The mid to late 1950s are generally considered to be the highpoint of children's outdoor play. The benefits of the welfare state, better health care for children and an improving standard of living all helped create a final heyday of the singing street. All the traditional outdoor games - and new ones - were thriving in the cities and the countryside.

However, outdoor play was to dramatically change from the late 1950s onwards. Mass car ownership and the advent of 'stranger danger' made the streets more perilous, while the coming of mass television provided a rival attraction - one that was favoured by all parents, as it was safe.

Television's influence inspired a new generation of children's games that were grafted onto the old. Popular songs, fashions, adventure programmes and news stories such as the conquest of space were all turned into a myriad of games and rhymes that reflected the modern world.

Even in the multilingual playgrounds of today, traditional games are still played, some of them with origins stretching back centuries. But they are complemented and enriched by Afro-Caribbean hip-hop raps, role plays that have been adapted from modern TV shows and dance steps from the latest music fashions.

First Broadcast : Tue 15 Dec 2009, 21:00, BBC Four.

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