In this Sunday, September 23, 2012 file photo, masked and armed Somali pirate Hassan stands near a Taiwanese fishing vessel washed ashore after the pirates were paid a ransom and the crew were released in the once-bustling pirate den of Hobyo, Somalia. Pirates have hijacked an oil tanker off the coast of Somalia, Somali officials and piracy experts said Tuesday, March 14, 2017, in the first hijacking of a large commercial vessel there since 2012. (Photo by Farah Abdi Warsameh/AP Photo)

American media personality’s Lauren Sánchez’s feline fine in a Michelle Pfeiffer-inspired ensemble early December 2024. (Photo by Lauren Sanchez/Instagram)

A dog belonging to the Armed Police Force jumps through a ring of fire while performing a trick during Kukur Tihar as part of Tihar, a term used in Nepal for Diwali, in Kathmandu, Nepal, on October 20, 2025. (Photo by Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters)

An aardvark named Draco eats a pumpkin as part of the upcoming “Halloween” at Prague Zoo, Prague, Czech Republic, on October 31, 2024. (Photo by Eva Korinkova/Reuters)

Guanacos sit during a signing ceremony in Patagonia Park, Chile, January 29, 2018. Chilean President Michelle Bachelet signed decrees Monday creating vast new national parks using lands donated by U.S. conservation organization Tompkins Conservation in what is believed to be the largest private donation of land ever from a private entity to a country. (Photo by Esteban Felix/AP Photo)

Peerapong Butakul, a transgender person also known as “Bee”, waits backstage during a rehearsal ahead of the reopening of Tiffany's show after closing for almost three years due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, in Pattaya, Thailand on August 31, 2022. (Photo by Athit Perawongmetha/Reuters)

A woman wears false flag eyelashes during the St Patrick's day parade through Dublin city centre on St Patrick's day, on March 17, 2013. (Photo by Julien Behal/PA Wire)

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)