The Power of Play: No Time For Child's Play

PHILADELPHIA (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Play … it shapes the brain, opens the imagination and invigorates the soul. So why are we doing less of it, instead of more? The average American kid spends just thirteen minutes a week playing outside. All work and no play is not just making Jane a dull girl. It's making her overweight, anxious and depressed.

Wake up, eat breakfast, rush to class, break for lunch, head to practice, eat dinner, study, sleep … repeat. This is life for most kids these days. In the past 25 years, playtime has dropped 25 percent.

"Play gets a bad rap," Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, Ph.D., a professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn., told Ivanhoe. "First of all, they consider it a four-letter word."

But is play really a waste of time? Dr. Hirsh-Pasek doesn't think so. She's a leading expert on the value of play.

"Play is a diminishing commodity," she said. "I liken it to global warming. Sometimes we don't see the effect for a number of years. Play is the same."

We're seeing the effects already. One-third of all our kids are overweight. Other experts say overbooked schedules are increasing childhood anxiety and depression.

That's why play is central to learning at one private school in Philadelphia.

"In unstructured play, our children learn how to become the bosses of their own time," Dr. Hirsh-Pasek explained.

From play, kids also learn how to socialize, how to get along, and even how to problem solve. They're skills that used to be repeated during recess, but 40 percent of the nation's elementary schools have shortened recess or cut it altogether.

"It's boring just sitting in class doing work all day," 9 year old Nicole Cunningham said.

"I think recess is really important because you get all your energy out," explained 10 years old Tracy Neville.

"You can get to know people better by playing with them and seeing what games they like and see if you have stuff in common," said Jamie Herrick, 9 years old.

Just a few minutes a day can make a difference.

"Neurobiologists and psychologists have done studies that suggest kids have even greater levels of concentration -- even if they have 15 minutes of recess," Kathy Schultz, Ph.D., an associate professor in the graduate school of education at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, explained.

Experts say play doesn't have to be expensive or elaborate to be educational.

"You don't need to go to any toy store or buy any specific toy," Ramina Mariel Barros, M.D., an assistant clinical professor of pediatrics at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, N.Y., said. "Kids can use their imagination and just play."

In her book Einstein Never Used Flash Cards, Dr. Kirsch-Pasek says toys don't need to be marked "educational" in order to help kids learn and develop.

"They learn how to count," Dr. Kirsch-Pasek said. "They learn estimation. Board games are pretty important for young children."

Parents can foster playtime anywhere. Just as you can find rectangles in buildings and hexagons in stop signs, numbers appear in a box of French fries. Have your kids divide them up between their friends. There you have it -- a math lesson at McDonald's. And just reading to a child is not enough. Ask them to consider alternative outcomes or relate what's on the page to their own experience. Next, let your child take the lead. Don't control your playtime together. Let them make the decisions.

"I play four corners," 8 year old Bobby Hamilton said. "I do hopscotch. I do a little bit of basketball."

Experts say by just letting your children play, you're laying the foundation for a lifetime of critical thinking.

"Your whole life, you can't do what everyone else tells you to do, so using your imagination is definitely good practice for when you get older and you need to make your own choices and come up with things on your own," Neville said.

"They come from the sandbox, and they move to the boardroom," Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek commented

Having fun … it's never a waste of time.

To create a better play environment, turn off the TV, make play dates with children their own age, avoid too many toys, let them use the toys they already have in a variety of different ways, watch out for over scheduling, and explore the great outdoors.

If you would like more information, please contact:

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, khirshpa@temple.edu