putterings       590   <   591   >   592       index

 
Play in the City
      The city offers many opportunities to children which smaller communities cannot... But how to fill odd hours and bits of hours presents a problem. The time between dentist’s appointment and dinner, the dark of a midwinter afternoon, the twenty minutes before leaving on a trip can hang heavy on the hands of the [73] city child. Back yards are gone and with them the chance for a quick game of catch. There are no front steps within mother’s call where a pre-schooler might sit and pass the time of day with passers-by. Attics and cellars are non-existent, effectively cutting down opportunities for puttering, cluttering, making messes and leaving them about. To a large extent, therefore, recreation for the city child and the city family must be thought about and planned....
      That there can be a value in pointless laughter and plain uncomplicated fun rarely strikes hom to families like these — and it’s too bad. It is time they took the work out of play.

ex Dorothy Barclay, Understanding the City Child : A Book for Parents (1959) : 73
borrowable at archive.org : link

—

Dorothy Barclay (1918- ) was “parent and child editor” of The New York Times.
 

4 March 2026