A pilot project encouraging parents to play with their children, and giving them ideas about what that play should consist of, has got under way in the north-west.
In an era when a lot of people might think play is all about the latest computer game, it is ironic that parents are being urged to revive the games of their childhood. The idea is that in doing so they will help their children's physical and emotional health.
The scheme is being run by the North Western Health Board, which has organised special training for parents from around the region. The training is mainly based on traditional and co-operative games, and these parents are now going out to schools to train other parents.
"Because of all the other distractions such as TV, children actually need to be encouraged to play more so now than a number of years ago," explains Maire McCallion of the board's health promotions department.
For the health board it could be seen as an investment in the future. The fact that Irish children today are less active, and therefore less healthy, has already been well publicised in studies. If children grow up without forming the habit of taking regular physical exercise, the task of transforming them into healthy adults will be all the more difficult.
The basic aim of the "Sugrádh Le Cheile" pilot project is to promote physical activity for children and to improve communication between parents and children. It is a concept previous generations would probably have found bizarre: a health board having to step in to ensure children do exactly what always came naturally to them, running, jumping, chasing, catching, throwing and having fun together. But such, it seems, has been the effect of television, computers and fears about children's safety.
"We know that children are less active, and we also know that parents can influence children's activity levels, particularly younger children," says Maire McCallion.
"So in an era when parents believe they are doing the right thing in driving their children to school, and in ferrying them about generally, it is even more important that they lead by example and encourage youngsters to be more active.
"Experience so far on the project, the issue of finding time, is also a factor for parents. What our society terms as progress seems to involve parents having less time to spend with their offspring."
One parent, in filling out an evaluation form after a workshop, thanked the organisers for reminding her "to take time out" to spend with her children. Others have commented that it made them realise that they didn't need to buy expensive toys for successful play.
In informing parents of the value of play, it is emphasised that the benefits are more than merely physical. "Parents need to communicate with their children, and play is an ideal way to do that. It is also good for their social, intellectual and emotional development," says Maire McCallion.
Traditional games recommended include follow-the-leader, queenie traffic lights and skittles, while an example of a co-operative game is two people trying to balance a ball between them without using their hands. It gets more complicated when you have six people all moving together trying to balance six balls.
While it is important for parents to play with their children, it is also important for children to play with each other. Jean Parker, a play facilitator, who trained the parents now training others, says it's not so much about instruction as providing opportunities and giving ideas.
Children will play naturally, and it's important to use their own creativity, but many opportunities for play are being taken from them, she says. Very little research has been carried out here, but in Britain it has been found that one in 10 children are not allowed to play outdoors.
Play is hugely important in terms of social and emotional development, she says, and it also encourages creativity. She uses a range of methods from traditional and co-operative games to drama, storytelling, and crafts.
When children make masks they are then encouraged to use those masks in more creative play. Dressing up is also very popular and can lead to role-play and drama. It's not true, she says, that children prefer bought toys to making their own, but they have to be provided with the materials.
And one of the 15 people trained so far by the health board points out that they also have to be free to make a mess and get their clothes dirty. Shirley Hewston, who works in a playschool in Co Leitrim, says a problem she has encountered is children arriving at the playschool in their best clothes with instructions not to get dirty.
"Children have to be allowed to experiment and explore," she says. She also finds that many parents struggle to find time to play with their children.
Paul Gorman, from Inishowen in Co Donegal, who was a founder member of a fathers' group in Moville, says he hopes to encourage other men to get involved. "It would be good for men's health, too, to do more of this type of thing with their children," he says.