The essence of the game is free playThat is, being able to decide who you want to play with, what you want to play, and when you want to play. And for this to be possible, it is necessary for adults to value play—which is not only a vital activity for children, but also a right recognized by the Convention on the Rights of the Child—and to provide the necessary conditions: time, adequate space, playmates, and autonomy to do so. Play is a source of physical and mental well-being, of learning, and has a positive impact on children's development. But the point is to play for play's sake. Play is a pleasurable activity in which the process is more important than the results. Productive lives, consumer activities, and other tasks and responsibilities that we adults have seem to extend into childhood, and we are gradually forgetting that children up to the age of 17 are still children and have the right to play. In fact, for 10- and 11-year-olds in Barcelona, ​​​​one of the areas of their lives that has been rated the lowest since 2017 is the amount of free time: half of them think they don't have enough.