Your right to play
Every child has the right to play. This means every single child, whatever their culture, impairment, gender, language, background, behaviour or need. The right to play is accepted universally and is set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
What about children in hospital?
Here at Starlight, we support children’s right to play in healthcare. Play is at the heart of childhood. All children should have play regardless of any healthcare needs. Play is often forgotten for children in hospital, hospices and other healthcare settings, despite play being essential for children’s development, sense of normality and enjoyment.
That’s where we can help. Starlight provides play resources and training to health professionals to support children and young people to play in healthcare.
The Right to Play: Starlight’s Position on Play in Healthcare
Starlight helps make hospitals happier places for children and young people. We work with healthcare teams to put play at the heart of treatment, offering free resources, training and expert support so every child can feel safe, calm and cared for during hospital stays.
We are working on a youth friendly version of our Play Well Promise below!