Release Date: August 27, 2026

Last Updated: August 27, 2026

Many years ago, I wrote an article for our Knowledge Centre called Childhood Reflections.

At the time, I had recently been given what I still think is one of the best job titles in the world: Director of Authentic Childhoods.

It got me thinking about my own childhood.

Not the things I was taught or the activities adults had prepared for me, but the things I could actually remember.

The places.

The people.

The freedom.

The smells.

The adventures.

The things that probably seemed quite ordinary at the time but, years later, had somehow become part of me.

I asked a question then that I have continued asking ever since:

What do we truly believe children need?

Seven years later, having spent countless hours talking with early childhood educators, leaders, childminders and settings, I think that question matters more than ever.

Perhaps we need to add another one.

What does it actually feel like to be a child in your setting?

Not what does your setting look like?

Not what resources have you bought?

Not what training have your staff completed?

Not what does the planning say should be happening?

But if we could shrink ourselves down, walk through the door at three years old and spend the whole day there...

What would childhood feel like?

Have we made early childhood too busy?

Over the years, I have seen some incredible early childhood practice.

I have met educators who care deeply about children and who turn up every day determined to make a difference.

But I have also noticed how easy it is for early years to become incredibly busy.

There is always another thing to do.

Another initiative.

Another idea saved from social media.

Another activity.

Another resource.

Another display.

Another target.

Another piece of evidence.

Another expectation we have somehow absorbed along the way.

Sometimes we become so busy trying to give children a wonderful childhood that we forget to leave enough room for them to actually have one.

I don't think this happens because practitioners don't care.

Quite the opposite.

Often it happens because they care enormously.

We want to do a good job.

We want children to learn.

We want parents to see the value in what we provide.

We want our environments to look inviting.

We want to demonstrate that we are professional, knowledgeable educators.

But perhaps occasionally we need permission to stop adding and start asking.

Does this genuinely make childhood better?

Play isn't the gap between the learning

One of the things I feel increasingly strongly about is our need to protect children's right to play.

Not play squeezed into whatever time is left once everything else has been fitted in.

Not play that has been carefully engineered by adults to produce a predetermined outcome.

Not an activity that looks like play but where the adult has already decided what should happen.

Real play.

The kind where children become absorbed.

Where they make decisions.

Change direction.

Repeat something twenty-seven times.

Abandon an idea.

Return to it tomorrow.

Argue.

Negotiate.

Imagine.

Take a reasonable risk.

Get something wrong.

Work something out.

And sometimes do something that makes absolutely no sense to us whatsoever.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises play, rest and leisure as a right of the child under Article 31. UNICEF also describes play as central to children's cognitive, physical, social and emotional development, as well as imagination and creativity.

That matters.

Play isn't simply a pleasant extra to be offered when the important learning is finished.

Play is important learning.

Beautiful environments aren't enough

I need to say this one because it is something I have watched happen over many years.

People discover The Curiosity Approach® and often the first thing they notice is the environment.

And I completely understand why.

The photographs are beautiful.

Calm spaces.

Authentic resources.

Loose parts.

Natural materials.

Plants.

Light.

Order.

Interesting treasures waiting to be discovered.

But there is a danger when we start believing that this is The Curiosity Approach®.

It isn't.

You could fill every shelf with wooden resources, replace every brightly coloured plastic toy, add a beautiful rug and a vintage lamp...

…and still completely miss the point.

Because changing what is on the shelf doesn't automatically change the way we see children.

It doesn't automatically make us listen more.

Intervene less.

Slow down.

Trust children.

Reflect on our expectations.

Or question routines that have existed simply because “that's how we've always done it”.

An environment matters enormously.

But the adults inside it matter even more.

Sometimes the biggest transformation is us

This has probably been one of my biggest observations from settings who undertake The Curiosity Approach® Accreditation.

At the beginning, people understandably talk about what they are going to change.

The room.

The resources.

The displays.

The provision.

But as the journey develops, the conversations start changing too.

People begin noticing themselves.

Why did I interrupt then?

Why am I asking that question?

Why can't the child carry that chair?

Why do we all have to stop playing now?

Who decided this was the correct way to use this resource?

Is this expectation about what the child needs — or what makes the day easier for adults?

Those questions can be uncomfortable.

But they can also be incredibly powerful.

Because meaningful professional development isn't always about discovering something new.

Sometimes it is about becoming conscious of something we have been doing for years without ever really asking why.

Children need us to notice, not constantly direct

There is also something important here about relationships.

The Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University describes the importance of responsive “serve and return” interactions — the back-and-forth exchanges between children and caring adults that contribute to healthy development.

I love the word responsive.

Because responsive isn't the same as controlling.

It isn't about adults disappearing from play.

And it certainly isn't about children being left without connection, guidance or support.

It is about being present enough to notice.

To listen.

To understand when we are needed.

And, perhaps just as importantly, to understand when we are not.

Sometimes the most respectful thing we can do is resist the temptation to jump in with the answer.

We can give children time.

Watch.

Wonder.

And trust.

Childhood needs movement too

Children are not designed to spend large parts of their day sitting still.

The World Health Organization recommends that young children spend more time being physically active through play and less time sedentary or restrained.

Again, I think this gives us something to reflect on.

How often does the rhythm of our setting ask children to stop?

Sit down.

Come together.

Wait.

Queue.

Move on.

Put it away.

Finish.

Listen.

Of course, some routines are necessary. A group of children sharing a space needs rhythm, care and consideration.

But there is a difference between a rhythm that supports children and one built predominantly around adult convenience.

Perhaps part of rebuilding childhood is looking carefully at those ordinary moments nobody puts on Instagram.

Lunch.

Transitions.

Nappy changes.

Getting dressed.

Going outside.

Walking downstairs.

Rest.

Arrival.

Home time.

Those moments are childhood too.

The question isn't “Does this look like Curiosity?”

This is another challenge I have heard many times.

People worry about whether they are “doing Curiosity correctly”.

They ask:

Should we have this?

Can we use that?

Does this look Curiosity?

And I understand where those questions come from.

But perhaps there is a more useful question.

What is this doing for our children?

Because The Curiosity Approach® should never become another checklist.

It isn't a colour palette.

It isn't a shopping list.

And it certainly isn't about making thousands of early childhood settings around the world look exactly the same.

Children are different.

Communities are different.

Cultures are different.

Settings are different.

Your environment should belong to the children, families and community who inhabit it.

The important thing is the thinking underneath.

Perhaps September doesn't need more

As a new term approaches, there can be an enormous temptation to start again.

New displays.

New activities.

New themes.

New resources.

New plans.

Perhaps before we add anything, we could start somewhere much simpler.

Gather the team together.

Put the kettle on.

And ask:

What do we want childhood to feel like here?

Then listen.

Really listen.

You might hear words such as:

Safe.

Joyful.

Unhurried.

Exciting.

Home.

Connected.

Free.

Curious.

Loved.

Respected.

Adventurous.

Belonging.

Then comes the harder question.

Does our everyday practice make those words true?

Not occasionally.

Not when somebody is observing.

Not in the photograph we put on Facebook.

Every day.

Five questions worth taking back to your team

If this article has got you thinking, don't create another action plan just yet.

Start with a conversation.

Ask your team:

1. If I were a child here, what would I experience most during an ordinary day?

2. Where do children have genuine time and freedom to become deeply involved in play?

3. Which parts of our day are organised around children's needs — and which are primarily organised around adults?

4. What do we do simply because we have always done it that way?

5. If a child described how our setting made them feel, what would we hope they said?

You don't have to solve everything in one staff meeting.

You simply have to remain curious enough to ask.

Rebuilding childhood doesn't happen overnight

The longer I work in early childhood, the less interested I become in quick fixes.

Real change is rarely a dramatic before-and-after photograph.

It is usually quieter than that.

A practitioner waiting a few seconds longer before stepping in.

A manager questioning a routine that nobody has questioned for ten years.

A team realising they have been filling children's days instead of giving them space.

An environment becoming calmer because there is less, not more.

A child being trusted with something we previously believed they couldn't manage.

An educator finding their confidence again.

Small shifts.

Repeated.

Discussed.

Reflected upon.

Embedded.

Until eventually they become culture.

That is what I mean when I talk about rebuilding childhoods.

Not going backwards.

Not romanticising the past.

And certainly not pretending the world children are growing up in hasn't changed.

It means being brave enough to decide what deserves protecting as we move forward.

Time.

Play.

Relationships.

Movement.

Wonder.

Connection.

Belonging.

Childhood.

And perhaps the best place to begin is still the question I asked all those years ago.

What do we truly believe children need?

Then let's make sure the childhood we create for them reflects our answer.

Want to explore this thinking further?

The Curiosity Approach® Accreditation Master Plan was created to help early childhood settings move beyond surface-level changes and reflect deeply on environments, practice, leadership and the experiences we create for children.

It is a supported whole-setting journey designed to bring teams together, question practice and create meaningful, lasting change.

Explore The Curiosity Approach® Accreditation Master Plan

The accreditation is the recognition. The transformation happens on the journey.

Further reading

Keep this section visually quieter than the main article.

• United Nations – Convention on the Rights of the Child – including Article 31 and children's right to play, rest and leisure.

• UNICEF – What is free play and why should you encourage it? – an accessible overview of play and children's development.

• Harvard University, Center on the Developing Child – Serve and Return – exploring the importance of responsive relationships and back-and-forth interactions.

• World Health Organization – To grow up healthy, children need to sit less and play more – guidance on movement, active play, sedentary behaviour and sleep in children under five.

About the author

Michael Willis is Lead Consultant at The Curiosity Approach® and Director of Authentic Childhoods. His work focuses on helping early childhood educators and leaders reflect on the experiences they create for children, reconnect with their values and build cultures where childhood, curiosity and play remain at the heart of practice.