The Importance of Play - AAP report

[elliput]

http://www.aap.org/pressroom/play-public.htm

I have heard various new bits regarding the over-scheduling of children, and am impressed that the AAP has addressed this.

FTR, I am very pro free-form play, as it was one of my favorite things to do as a child. :-)

[cmdunn1972]

Erica, that's an interesting article worth a mention. :) Thanks for posting!

[trentsmom]

That's a great article. Right now, I don't feel any pressure to enroll DS in lots of activities. Maybe because I wasn't in many activities as a child? And because I was an only child, I really had to use my imagination during play.

[SnuggleBuggles]

I have been fighting hard to keep my child from being overscheduled- for all of our sanity. Lots of playdates and just time to exploer the world at his pace. Happy to see the AAP report. :)

Beth

[megs4413]

interesting article. now if only i could get DD to play.....all she wants to do is read.....

[CharmedOne]

Erica, thanks for posting this! I'm pro free-form play as well just because I wasn't enrolled in any activities as a child. I have lots of siblings, and we all had very vivid imaginations. We all did very well in school. :)

It makes me feel better that we don't have DS enrolled in anything. With two full time work schedules and a tight budget, it's just not in the cards. However we'll enroll him in activities as he begins to show interest.

Caroline

http://b2.lilypie.com/3k5Am7/.png

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_gold_12m.gif 16 months

[maestramommy]

I saw an article about this report. Hope it catches on. I think as a child I mostly did free play, since kiddie classes weren't in vogue yet.

[jennifer_r]

Great article - finally something I can point my friends to when they hint that I am not doing enough for my kids because most of our day is free play (we only do Music Together and a 1 hour open gym each week).

Basically, this article is a summary of "Einstein Never Used Flashcards". Glad to hear that the AAP is supporting free play - hopefully, parents won't feel as pressured to over-schedule their children.

Jennifer

Mom to:
Christopher 12/29/89
Adelaide 8/23/04
Bronwyn 11/9/05

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_garnet_6m.gif[/img][/url]

[bisous]

This is a great article. I have long thought that aside from the detriments of overscheduling children, free play has constructive benefits. It engages creativity, emotional wellness, and problem solving. I think that these traits make for not only the happiest children but the brightest scholars farther down the line. Of course, my opinion is only based on my own observations and upbringing but its nice to see the AAP take the time to mention this.

Jen

[purpleeyes]

This is great-I am always stressing this at work (school counselor) and its nice to have some 'official' info!

Beth

[redhookmom]

Our preschool handed out articles by Stuart L. Brown MD that caused me to research him and his theories. Here's the website. www.instituteforplay.info/index.html

Some interesting points from the article:

"Every child, well-fed and safe in addition to breathing and sleeping, also universally spontaneously engages in play. "

"The smarter, more flexible and adaptive the creature, the more they play."

"For humans, play is also surprisingly active in the shaping of one's own inner private narratives (actual sense of self), and thus is directly related to mental health and elasticity. It is also the means by which we shape a model world."

The doctor, Brown, had collected play profiles of over 8,000 people after discovering the commonality of lack of play when working with murderers.

Anyway, it's an interesting site, the different types of play are broken down, educational recommendations are there too.