Ant and Dec are among the celebrities lending their support to NSPCC’s Childhood Day.
Ant and Dec
The annual event staged by the NSPCC (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children) takes place on Friday (11.06.21) and sees thousands of people across the UK come together to play to help in an attempt to give children a brighter future.
The presenting duo played a round of indoor golf to show how easy it is to get kids and adults playing together.
Ant, 45, says it’s “an honour” to be involved as he emphasised the importance of stressing the “benefits to play” particularly with social-distancing restrictions still in place owing to the COVID-19 pandemic preventing children being able to play as they “normally would” over several months.
He said: “It’s such an honour to be supporting the NSPCC’s Childhood Day today. There are so many benefits to play and sadly it is something that’s been really restricted over the last year with many children not being able to play with their friends like they normally would.”
While 45-year-old Dec insists he wants “all children to have a bright future” and urged people to watch their video and "get playing".
He said: “As lockdown restrictions continue to ease, we want all children to have a bright future ahead of them. That’s why we’re getting involved in Childhood Day today so we can play our part for children. Check out our video and get playing!”
Dame Esther Rantzen, who is the founder of NSPCC service Childline, and fellow TV host Emma Willis are also backing the campaign.
The NSPCC reports that the pandemic has increased the risk of abuse and neglect. Its Childline service has reported an 18 per cent increase in people seeking counselling for emotional abuse, compared to the year before.
A recent NSPCC YouGov poll of 1,036 parents with children aged three to 12 determined that almost three quarters (74 per cent) believe play has helped their child’s mental health and wellbeing since the start of the pandemic. While, over half (53 per cent) think it’s helped to reduce stress and prevent loneliness and 58 per cent believe its helped to support learning outside of school.
Visit nspcc.org.uk/childhood-day to download your free fundraising pack with lots of play ideas.
People are also being urged to support Childhood Day and help protect children by making a donation through the NSPCC website - www.nspcc.org.uk/support-us/ways-to-give/donate/
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