Nikha, a 10-year-old schoolgirl living in central Baghdad, can only dream about frittering away her holidays by the swimming pool or running free in a playground.
Her parents deem the city too dangerous for her to play outside, and, besides, most public parks are either shut or decaying - victims of war and poverty like much else in Baghdad, which is home to five million. School holidays may drag on from mid-June to mid-September during the scorching summer months, but there is little evidence of the child-focused industry that caters for foot-loose and fancy-free children in the West.
Baghdad zoo, although recently renovated to rehouse nine lions, the former pets of Saddam Hussein's elder son Uday, is deserted.
Situated inside the capital's largest green park, both are too close to the central compound - home to the US embassy and many government offices - frequently targeted by attacks, for many to feel comfortable going there.
At parks where an entrance fee is required, such as at Tufakha in the east, the number of young visitors can be counted on the fingers of one hand. "Parents fear for their children because of the lack of security and the power cuts which stop the rides from working," said Abdel Emir Kazar, 55. A former general in Saddam's disbanded army, today he runs a funfair.
He says only about 20 children come each day during the school holidays to play on the rusting swings or go cycling on a moribund track in the full glare of the sun, despite a city where temperatures exceed 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit) in the shade.
His gaudy funfair offers few delights, except to infatuated teenage couples, desperate to escape prying eyes at home and on the streets.
"The rides are free for children who can't afford it," said Kazar, always armed with a pistol. His aim is to set up an aid organisation to help Iraqi children, innocent victims in the country's conflict.
Not far away, hundreds of children in the chic Zeiuna neighbourhood long for the cooler hours of early evening to play in the shady Raihana playground, protected from the heat by a giant canopy.
But all this and the delights of a family restaurant are open only to those who can afford the entrance fee. Nevertheless most parents prefer to keep their children at home, glued to the television or computer games, in between trips to known and trusted ice cream parlours in Mansour and Karada.
Others enrol their children on a course of religious instruction. For example, the Al-Robaihi mosque offers lessons three times a week for girls and boys of all ages, in separate classes.
But in the wake of bombings outside five churches in Baghdad and Mosul on Sunday, his programme of children's activities has been cancelled - the security risk deemed too high.
In the slums of Baghdad, young boys play football in the filthy streets or take a dip in the Tigris River. Girls, of course, have no option but to stay home with their mothers.
Those who are older roam the streets smoking cigarettes and drinking soft drinks, bought with money earnt from recycling bottles and cans, whiling away the months until the return to school.