Divers perform underwater “Flying Apsaras” dance at Nanjing Underwater World on September 20, 2023 in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province of China. (Photo by Yang Bo/China News Service/VCG via Getty Images)

The Disney Fantasy cruise ship is docked for its christening on March 1, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)

Mareya Wae U Seng of Thailand performs during Individual qualification and Individual team final subdivision 2 of Rhythmic Gymnastics final at the 19th Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Friday, October 6, 2023. (Photo by Eugene Hoshiko/AP Photo)

A spectator takes a selfie during the 2024 World Rally Car championship in Concepción, Chile on September 28, 2024. (Photo by Nikos Katikis/DPPI/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Women dressed in traditional Chinese costumes wait perform in celebration of the Chinese New Year at the Nankinmachi square, China Town on February 8, 2016 in Kobe, Japan. In Nankinmachi, the district known as Kobe Chinatown, tourists enjoyed Chinese food, lion dance and the parade organized to celebrate the Lunar New Year. (Photo by Buddhika Weerasinghe/Getty Images)

A man and his cat rest in the street after an earthquake on May 22, 2021 in Dali, Yunnan Province of China. According to the China Earthquake Networks Center, a 5.6-magnitude earthquake jolted Yangbi Yi autonomous county in Dali Bai autonomous prefecture, Southwest China's Yunnan province on Friday evening. (Photo by Liu Ranyang/China News Service via Getty Images)

An “asparagus eating contest” made of asparagus and carved pumpkins is on display on the sidelines of the Giant Vegetable Competition in Klaistow, northeastern Germany, on September 20, 2015. The vegetable giants compete in seven categories. (Photo by Bernd Settnik/AFP 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)