As screens increasingly compete with real-world experiences, play is being pushed to the margins of childhood. Steve Arnold, Principal of Ranches Primary School, argues that educators must recognise play as the foundation of learning and protect the time, space and freedom children need to develop essential life skills 

Dubai, October 12, 2026: At the risk of sounding like a cliché from the 1980s and 90s, children today don’t play as much as they once did. Actually, that’s not entirely fair. It isn’t their fault. We are creating a world in which play is increasingly pushed to the margins, replaced by screens, schedules and structured activities. Children haven’t chosen this. Adults have built it around them. 

I spent Father’s Day with my three children watching the latest Toy Story film. Without giving away any spoilers, the central theme revolves around something many parents and educators are grappling with: technology competing for children’s attention. 

When conversations turn to screen time, the focus is often on inappropriate content, social media or addictive gaming. These are genuine concerns. But as educators, there is another issue that should worry us just as much. 

Screens are taking children away from play. And play is not a break from learning. Play is the foundation of learning. 

There is something deeply instinctive about it. Leave children with a few loose objects, a patch of grass, a climbing frame or even a cardboard box and before long an imaginary world begins to emerge. Rules are invented. Stories unfold. Problems appear and are solved. Friendships are formed and tested. 

It looks simple. In reality, it is some of the most important learning a child will ever do. 

Through play, children develop creativity and imagination. They experiment, explore and discover how the world works. They learn to manipulate objects, test ideas, take risks and adapt when things do not go according to plan. These are the foundations of problem solving and innovation. 

Just as importantly, play teaches us how to be human. 

How do children learn to negotiate, compromise and collaborate? How do they learn resilience when things don’t go their way? How do they learn empathy, leadership and self-control? 

The answer, more often than not, is through play. 

Those of us working in schools can see childhood changing. 

Increasingly, young children arrive at school with less developed communication skills, weaker social confidence and fewer opportunities to engage in imaginative play. Educators refer to this as school readiness. Recent research by Kindred Squared found that teachers estimate more than a third of children now begin school without the developmental skills typically associated with being school ready, with communication, emotional regulation and independent play among the most significant concerns. 

While many factors contribute to this trend, reduced opportunities for meaningful play and increasing screen use are frequently cited by educators. The reality is simple. If play is the foundation of learning, then children who have had fewer opportunities to play begin their educational journey at a disadvantage. 

This is why high-quality early years education places such importance on purposeful play. It provides endless opportunities to develop language, curiosity and independence. For those who have had less exposure to play, it helps them build the skills they need for a lifetime of learning. 

Of course, some will argue that technology provides opportunities for play too. And they are right. 

The question is not whether children play on screens. The question is whether screen-based play can fully replace the richness of real-world play. 

Digital play certainly has value, but it often requires less imagination, less negotiation and less physical interaction. The best forms of play challenge children to create, communicate, collaborate and explore. They require effort. They invite others in. They connect children to the real world rather than insulating them from it. 

The challenge for parents and educators is not to reject technology. It is to ensure that it does not crowd out something far more fundamental. 

At a time when recent UAE research (by the University of Sharjah and the American University of Beirut) suggests that more than a third of children spend over seven hours a day on screens outside of lessons, and many of those children are not engaging in regular physical activity, protecting opportunities for play has never been more important. 

We must treat play as something precious. We must protect time for it, create space for it and, whenever possible, join in ourselves. 

Because long before children learn to read, write or calculate, they learn through play. We must give them the time, space and freedom to play.