Kids app developer Toca Boca is launching a new campaign to help parents and kids increase the amount of time they play during the day.
Called “Stand for Play,” the campaign is striving for more unstructured, free play among kids. The official release states, “Kids have lost 12 hours of free time per week and experienced a 25 percent decrease in play. This has caused an overall decline in children’s creativity and correlates with an increase in anxiety and depression.” Toca Boca has drawn its information from the American Academy of Pediatrics and other organizations that are focused on welfare of kids.
All of Toca Boca apps are centered around freeplay. The apps don’t have any directions or set goals. They simply let kids jump in and do whatever they want do. As a mom who has looked at a lot of kids’ apps, I can say that Toca Boca’s are some of the best. My favorite of the Toca apps is the Toca Life series, which is kind of like a preschool version of The Sims.
“Play is on the decline in America, kids are overscheduled and free time is simply undervalued,” said Björn Jeffery, CEO and founder of Toca Boca in the official release. “Since day one at Toca Boca, we’ve been focused on encouraging free play, without rules, levels or predetermined outcomes. We believe in play for the sake of play which is why we want to do everything we can to stand up and protect it.”
During the month of February, parents can visit the website for the campaign and share the campaign on Facebook or Twitter in order to get a real-life kit that encourages kids to make their own posters and send photos back to Toca Boca for the chance to be featured on the Toca Boca official social channels.
