A woman wearing a protection face mask walks past a mural of a dog in Shanghai, China, 03 September 2020. Daily life in Shanghai is returning to normal while many people still wear protection masks on the street, which are still mandatory in many shopping malls and other public places. (Photo by Alex Plavevski/EPA/EFE)

A woman walks past a mural on a wall along a street in Singapore on February 17, 2021. (Photo by Roslan Rahman/AFP Photo)

A shopkeeper wears a face mask as a precaution against the coronavirus waits for customers at a market in Bengaluru, India, Friday, November 20, 2020. India's total number of coronavirus cases since the pandemic began has crossed 9 million. Nevertheless the country's new daily cases have seen a steady decline for weeks now and the total number of cases represents 0.6% of India's 1.3 billion population. (Photo by Aijaz Rahi/AP Photo)

Women wait for customers at the fish harbour in Kasimedu Fish market, Chennai, India, on June 26, 2024. (Photo by Riya Mariyam R./Reuters)

This photograph shows the famous Lyonnais fresco by CiteCreation with a tag depicting the Abbe Pierre with the word “rapist” next to it, in Lyon central-eastern France, on September 30, 2024. (Photo by Jeff Pachoud/AFP Photo)

Linda Cerruti of Italy competes in the Synchronized Swimming Solo Tech preliminary round during Day Two of the 14th FINA World Championships at the Oriental Sports Center on July 17, 2011 in Shanghai, China. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

A Dandy Dinnmont Terrier is displayed at the World Dog Show in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, June 13, 2015. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

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)