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)

In this June 16, 2017 photo, Batel Delciner, 23, removes wood from a furnace to lower the heat cooking sugar juice at the Ti Jean distillery, which produces clairin, a sugar-based alcoholic drink, in Leogane, Haiti. The broth is cooked for about four hours after a fermentation period of four to eight days. (Photo by Dieu Nalio Chery/AP Photo)

The first four finalists are selected during the 66th Miss Universe pageant at Planet Hollywood hotel-casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on November 26, 2017. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Reuters)

Model Ashley Graham shows off her curves in the second decade of June 2022 while rocking a colorful corset just four months postpartum. (Photo by ashleygraham/Instagram)

A Bengal tigress who gave birth to four cubs at the Guadalajara Zoo, Jalisco state, Mexico runs at the zoo on October 5, 2021. (Photo by Ulises Ruiz/AFP Photo)

English lingerie and catwalk model Abbey Clancy, the mum-of-four showed off her incredible toned tum on a modelling shoot in London, United Kingdom on November 8, 2021. (Photo by Backgrid USA)

A horse at the Great Yorkshire Show in Harrogate, UK on July 9, 2025. The county show is expecting to attract 140,000 visitors over four days. (Photo by Andrew McCaren/London News Pictures)

Sarah Everhardt of the U.S. performs during the gala exhibition in the ISU Four Continents Figure Skating Championships at the Mokdong ice rink in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday, February 23, 2025. (Photo by Lee Jin-man/AP Photo)