A pink elephant balloon, one of the entries in the Canadian Hot Air Balloon Championships, lands in a field in High River September 27, 2013. The event is a qualifier for the World Hot Air Balloon Championships in Sao Paulo in 2014. (Photo by Mike Sturk/Reuters)

Olaf Niess catches swans on the river Alster near the town hall in Hamburg, Germany, 17 November 2015. The Alster swans are moving to their ice-free winter quarters on the Eppendorf Muehlenteich millpond until spring. (Photo by Bodo Marks/EPA)

Two baby orangutans play with each other at the wildlife department in Kuala Lumpur, Malayasia, October 19, 2015. The Malaysian wildlife department in July seized two baby Sumatran orangutans, found in duffel bags, from traffickers who were attempting to sell them to buyers in Malaysia. According to local media, the orangutans will be returned to Medan, Indonesia on Tuesday. The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be $8 billion a year worldwide, according to TRAFFIC, a wildlife trade monitoring network. (Photo by Olivia Harris/Reuters)

A masked tourist poses for a souvenir photo next to a graffiti titled “Mobile World Virus” depicting “La Gioconda”, aka Mona Lisa, with a mobile phone and a medical mask, by urban artist TVBoy, close to the Sant Jaume square in Barcelona, Spain, 09 March 2020. Barcelona's Deputy Mayor and two town councillors are in quarantine after they were in contact with a City Hall's worker who was tested positive for the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Quique Garcia/EPA/EFE)

A protester wears a face shield made of recycled plastic bottles by artist Leeroy New during a anti-terror bill rally at the University of the Philippines as they observe Independence Day on Friday, June 12, 2020, in Metro Manila, Philippines. Hundreds of activists in the Philippine capital staged protests Friday against a proposed anti-terror law they say could be used to quash dissent, ignoring police threats that they could be arrested for violating coronavirus restrictions against large public gatherings. (Photo by Aaron Favila/AP Photo)

Lucaz Adamus (3), from Lucan, enjoying the Dublin Racing Festival, at Leopardstown Racecourse in Dublin, Ireland on February 5, 2023. (Photo by Tom Maher/Inpho)

A young Sandinista guerrilla takes aim with his 45 pistol as he stands waiting to do combat with the Nicaraguan National Guard in Managua June 23, 1979. The guerrillas still occupy major parts of the Capitol City. (Photo by McLendon/AP Photo)

In a simpler time all a child or an adult needed to enjoy the outdoors was a ball and a stick. Or maybe an old tire tied to a high branch to fashion a swing. And the only instruction given to children was to “be home before dark”. Now there are iPads and computers and television screens and shrinking safe public spaces. But despite the distractions and limitations of space, these images show the charm of kicking a ball or skipping rope endures. Sometimes with modifications as a nod to changing times. Here: in this Saturday, June 20, 2015 photo, a boy runs while playing with a motorcycle wheel in Samugari, Ayacucho, Peru. (Photo by Rodrigo Abd/AP Photo)