New Year's Eve revellers from Asia with Australian flags and balloons in the shape of the new year 2020 in Sydney, Australia on December 31, 2019. (Photo by Richard Milnes/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Protestors from the Extinction Rebellion march on day six of protests stopping traffic in the city district of Melbourne, Australia on October 12, 2019. (Photo by ydney Low/ZUMA Wire/Rex Features/Shutterstock)

Racegoers brave the rain during 2022 Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse on November 1, 2022 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Martin Keep/Getty Images for VRC)

Models pose during the Macgraw presentation show during Afterpay Australian Fashion Week 2023 on May 18, 2023 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by James Gourley/Getty Images for AAFW)

Rhiannan Iffland of Australia competes in the women's 20m platform final at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore, Saturday, July 26, 2025. (Photo by Vincent Thian/AP Photo)

A model poses backstage ahead of the Wackie Ju show during Australian Fashion Week Presented By Pandora 2024 at Carriageworks on May 17, 2024 in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Wendell Teodoro/Getty Images for AFW)

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)

Indian bride takes part in a mass marriage ceremony under chief minister's welfare scheme (Mukhyamantri Kanyadan Yojna) on the occasion of the Basant Panchami festival, in Bhopal, India, 30 January 2020. (Photo by Sanjeev Gupta/EPA/EFE/Rex Features/Shutterstock)