A wildlife caregiver holds an orphaned wombat at the Native Wildlife Rescue center on January 29, 2020 in Robertson, Australia. The center has taken in many burned kangaroos and wallabies injured in recent bushfires. Wombat orphans are often rescued from the pouch of their mothers struck by vehicles. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

Jerome Holcomb of Birmingham, Ala., posses for a photo atop a longhorn steer at the Fort Worth Stockyards Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Fort Worth, Texas. The mask mandate to prevent the spread of COVID-19 has been cancelled in Texas. Holcomb said he was tired of wearing a face mask so he came to visit Fort Worth after the Alabama governor extended the mask mandate in his home state. (Photo by L.M. Otero/AP Photo)

Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) goes airborne as New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov (40) makes the save in a shootout during an NHL hockey game, Tuesday, December 13, 2022, in Boston. (Photo by Charles Krupa/AP Photo)

A performer and his son parade during a gathering of sapeurs in Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, on February 10, 2023. Flamboyant dandies paraded near the tomb of one of their icons in DR Congo's capital Kinshasa, flaunting coveted designer labels in stark contrast to the grinding poverty surrounding them. Dozens of extravagantly dressed dandies, known locally as sapeurs, turned up on February 10, 2023 to commemorate the death of Stervos Niarcos, a pop star and one of the most famous of Congo's legendary dandies. Niarcos, who died in 1995, epitomises the fanatical pursuit of elegance for many in the abysmally poor central African country. (Photo by Alexis Huguet/AFP Photo)

Gold medalist Luiza Gega of Albania celebrates after the Athletics - Women's 3000m Steeplechase Final on day 10 of the European Championships Munich 2022 at Olympiapark on August 20, 2022 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Wolfgang Rattay/Reuters)

A yellow-billed oxpecker stands on a giraffe in the Masai Mara National Park, Kenya on September 3, 2022. (Photo by Baz Ratner/Reuters)

Horse riders perform during the 23rd Hassan II Trophy of Traditional Equestrian Arts (Tbourida) in Rabat, Morocco, 28 May 2024. Tbourida was inscribed in 2021 on UNESCO's representative list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity. (Photo by Jalal Morchidi/EPA)

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)