Play is for Keeps

Let your mind drift back to those hot and hazy summer days of your childhood, or to the after-school hours when your homework was done, or those cozy winter weekends with your family. Perhaps you played “kick the can” with friends as you roamed the neighborhood, or maybe you hosted imaginary tea parties with dolls and stuffed animals as your guests. Did you ever go on a mountain climbing expedition over a terrain of old tables and chairs in the basement or play dress-up for hours on end? If some of your best memories of childhood are about play, you're not alone. Play has a unique role in everyone's development because it is the way that children explore the world, build skills, exercise their imaginations, and learn through experience. It also brings joy and magic to our world, whatever age we may be.

What Kids Learn through Play Stays With Them Forever

Play, like food, exercise, love, and hope, is an essential building block of healthy development, a critical part of the foundation children need to lead productive lives as adults. That's why one of the most important things you can do for your children is to make sure they have the time and opportunity to play.

If play is so important to healthy development, why are our kids doing less and less of it?

    The reasons stem from a mix of social trends and cultural changes. For example:

• The numerous demands on working parents mean that many have less time and energy to play with their children or supervise playtime.
• Because many parents are concerned for their children's safety in a culture they perceive as increasingly violent, unsupervised outdoor play has nearly fallen by the wayside, especially for young children.
• Schools are placing greater emphasis on core academic subjects. As a result, recess, gym, music, and art classes are often removed from school schedules.
• Children participate in more organized sports and activities than ever before, and at younger ages. While this is positive in many respects, it reduces their time and energy for less structured play.

Does it matter? Shouldn't our play patterns change in response to cultural shifts?

While our culture has changed, the importance of play in healthy development has not. For example: