Table 1. Gender patterns of play observed in Ghana.

Gender	Type of outdoor activity	Play description
Male	Football	Most popular outdoor play. Though normally played with 11 players on both sides, many children tend to improvise with any desirable number usually based on space and children available.
	‘Pilolo’ and ‘Pampanaa’ (Hide and seek)	These two games develop the navigational skills of the child since it involves hiding from each other and mostly played in uncompleted buildings. It is played in groups.
	‘Chaskele’ (Ghanaian kids’ version of cricket)	Played with a stick and empty milk cans and a car tyre. The car tyre is placed on the ground and players try to toss the can into the hole in the tyre while other players try to prevent the can from entering into the hole by hitting the can away.
Female	Skipping rope	A play where one or two kids jump over a rope being swung by two other kids
	‘Ampe’	This game involves jumping, singing and clapping and it is played by two or more people. The number is always even
	‘Tumatu’ (Ghanaian version of hopscotch)	This game involves jumping and being strategic. You have to put your opponent in a position that makes it difficult or impossible to jump