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Dr. David Elkind Urges Parents to Add More Play to their Children's
Lives
"The traditional summer camp recognizes that play is a
powerful form of learning that contributes mightily to the child's
healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual development."
American children seem to be in constant motion—their
schedules packed with homework, chores, music lessons, and organized
sports. With a lack of time for good, old-fashioned play for
children, Tufts University child development expert Dr. David
Elkind warns in his upcoming book, The
Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to
Happier and Healthier Children, that there can be health
and psychological consequences.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concurs with Dr. Elkind.
In a recent report written in defense of play and in response
to forces threatening free play and unscheduled time, AAP concludes free
and unstructured play is healthy and—in fact—essential
for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive
developmental milestones as well as helping them manage stress
and become resilient.
Dr. Elkind has researched the areas of perceptual, cognitive,
and social development of young children, and it is this research
that has fueled his groundbreaking books—The
Hurried Child, All Grown Up and No Place to Go, and Miseducation:
Preschoolers at Risk. This much-loved author and psychologist is the past
president of the National Association for the Education of Young
Children, and a frequent contributor to television programs,
including the Today Show, 20/20, Oprah, and the Lifetime series
Kids These Days, which he cohosted.
"The silencing of children's play is as harmful to healthy
development, if not more so, than is the hurrying of children
to grow up too fast too soon," Elkind writes in the introduction
to The Power of Play.
Elkind, the keynote speaker for the 2007 American Camp Association
National Conference, states that traditional summer camp is an
oasis for children who are so focused on preparing for the future
and have no time for enjoying the moment. "Not only does
summer camp provide children relief from the pressures to achieve,
it reacquaints children with the natural world, with the importance
of friendship, cooperation, and the fragility of the environment
in which we live. The traditional summer camp recognizes that
play is a powerful form of learning that contributes mightily
to the child's healthy physical, emotional, social, and intellectual
development."
Dr. Elkind recommends to all parents, "More play should
be added to your child's life."
Give your child an oasis from the day-to-day pressures—give
your child the gift of camp.
Add more play to your child's life. Here's how…
- Cut TV time and replace it with playtime. Television sitcoms
and movies have all but eliminated the self-initiated dramatic
play that once mimicked the adult world. Give your child the
time, the place, and the materials to engage in make-believe,
express his or her individuality, and grow physically, emotionally,
and mentally through play.
- Make play-dates with children of a similar age, and let them
initiate the kind of play they wish to engage in. Children
of the same age love to play together. These children are at
the same skill level and create a relationship of mutual authority.
It's important for children to engage in play with their peers
so that they can establish a sense of alliance that will grow
as they do.
- Avoid too many toys too often. Toy play is one way that children
nurture their disposition for imagination and fantasy—and
these human potentials can only be fully developed through
practice. But the sheer number of toys owned by the contemporary
child weakens the power of playthings to engage children in
dramatic thinking. When it comes to toys, less is more. Children
are easily overwhelmed by the multitude of their playthings
and will end up going from toy
to toy without spending time on any one of them. Make sure
the toys you buy encourage imaginative inspiration, not momentary
amusement or distraction.
- Watch out for over-scheduling. These days, parents are too
anxious for their children to succeed in an increasingly competitive
global economy. Many parents regard play as a luxury that the
contemporary child cannot afford. Make sure to leave some unscheduled,
free time for your child each day. Allow him or her to choose
the activity to fill that time and provide materials, like
hand-me-down clothes, that encourage creative expression and
imaginative play.
- Explore the great outdoors. For adults and children alike,
nature can provide endless inspiration and delight. Take your
kids to a park or on a hike. Encourage them to ask questions
and engage with the world around them. Climbing a tree and
playing games with plants and dirt are simple, fun, and important
ways for your child to become acquainted with the natural world.
Interacting with the natural world teaches children about sameness
and difference, and about constancy across change. These concepts
are an important preparation for constructing the basic units
of math, reading, and science.
Adapted from David Elkind's The Power of Play
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