Traditional playground games still reigning supreme in digital age

British children still rank an old-school game of Hide & Seek as their favourite playground pastime, according to new research. And in similarly striking parallels to their parents, Tag/It/Tig remains a close second among the younger generation.

Research revealed today shows the two games top the table among both current children and parents from back in their day – but there are significant differences showcased elsewhere. Hopscotch and Conkers have become less popular over the generations, with both falling five places each down the list.

But games such as Rock, Paper, Scissors, I Spy, and What’s the Time Mr. Wolf all rank in the top 10 for both parents and their children. And another that remains consistent is a robust love of sticker album collecting, which held strong at seventh place for both.

When it comes to football stickers, there was strong agreement around the most burning question, ‘How many stickers is a shiny worth?’. Research, commissioned by M&S Food to celebrate the launch of its new Eat Well, Play Well summer Home Nation’s Panini football sticker giveaway - with stickers and albums now available in stores today - revealed there is surprisingly little sticker inflation over the generations, with shinies retaining the same value; three stickers traded for one sought after shiny sticker.

Former England star Jamie Redknapp, who is celebrating the campaign, has fond memories of sticker collecting during his younger days and said: "I remember the banter between me and my friends at breaktime over rare stickers and the best shinies.

“Even opening a packet now, that smell takes you straight back to the feeling of anticipation.”

Though sticker collecting has always been considered a simple pastime, more than one in four parents (28%) said it helped develop communication skills and credited ‘Got, Got, Need’ trading for cultivating a spirit of healthy competition and giving their first experience of entrepreneurialism (26%). And a further 20% said that sticker trading encouraged them to be business-minded and develop negotiation skills.

When asked, one in four children (25%) said they enjoy competing with friends during trades with a savvy one in eight (12%) confessing to bribing friends with food or toys to get the stickers they need. Sticker collecting still holds the attention of parents too with nearly one in three (29%) helping their children with their football sticker albums with one in 10 (9%) parents collecting football stickers during major tournaments.

Almost one in five parents (17%) said that while they buy the stickers for their children, they wish they could play with the stickers themselves. Reflecting on their own childhood, a bitter 10% of parents remember being upset how their parents wouldn't allow them to send off for the final stickers to complete their album. While 66% of parents are concerned about the amount of screen time their children have, it’s positive to see that less than half (44%) of children prefer to play games on phones, iPads, and computers over playing games without screens.

Greg Lansdowne, Panini expert and author of Stuck on You: The Rise & Fall... & Rise of Panini Stickers, said: “Football sticker collecting is not just about completing an album – it's about sparking a love for the beautiful game.

“Kids learn player names, team colours, and even geography by recognising flags and nationalities.”

The exclusive M&S Food collaboration with Panini is part of their Eat Well, Play Well campaign, where they are giving away a packet of stickers for every £20 spent in store. The album, available only from M&S, hosts training tips from football favourites and healthy recipe ideas for pre and post-match meal prep.