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)

A 6-month old female giant panda cub, an offspring of Xing Xing, formerly known as Fu Wa and Liang Liang, formerly known as Feng Yi, plays at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Thursday, February 18, 2016. (Photo by Joshua Paul/AP Photo)

Actress Anya Taylor-Joy is seen at NBC's “Today” show on February 04, 2025 in New York City. (Photo by Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images)

Tia the springer spaniel chases after the ball as owner Monika Burton falls over in the background. The funny scene was captured by husband, Vince Burton at Wells Next The Sea, Norfolk, on Easter Monday, April 18, 2022. (Photo by Vince Burton/Animal News Agency)

Cast members Rebecca Ferguson and Mariela Garriga attend the premiere of the film “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One”, in New York City, New York, U.S., July 10, 2023. (Photo by Amr Alfiky/Reuters)

“Bruciamo tutto” (Let's burn everything) activist is removed by police after she poured red paint on the Spanish Steps to protest against femicides in Rome, Italy, on June 26, 2024. (Photo by Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters)

This little kingfisher clearly didn't read the sign when it landed itself a minnow in a no fishing zone. Taxi driver Paul Bird, 52, from Newmarket, Suffolk, UK, captured this amusing moment whilst out looking to photograph kingfishers in Norfolk, an hour drive from his home. Paul explained: “There are a total of six perches the bird was using from which to fish, one of them being the No Fishing sign”. (Photo by Paul Bird/Solent News & Photo Agency)

People pose for photos beneath the Hollywood sign on September 25, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. Hollywood is awaiting the final vote on a tentative contract agreement between over 11,000 Writers Guild of America members and Hollywood studios in the nearly 150-day writers strike. (Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images)