The Importance of Play
Originally Published September 2019
Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist known for his work on child development, said that “play is the work of childhood.” Mr. Rogers further noted, “Play is often talked about as if it were a relief from serious learning. But for children, play is serious learning.”
Psychologists at the University of Colorado and the University of Denver recently conducted a study of six-year-olds on how less-structured and more-structured activities may impact the development of executive functioning skills. Less-structured play, also called “free play” is defined as activities in which children play without the supervision and structure of adults. More-structured play would include music lessons and organized sports where adults are directing the activities. The researchers found a positive correlation between more time in less-structured play and the development of executive functioning (self-regulation) skills.
Why does this matter?
According to the researchers, “self-directed executive function develops mostly during childhood...and it includes any mental processes that help us work toward achieving goals—like planning, decision making, manipulating information, switching between tasks, and inhibiting unwanted thoughts and feelings. It is an early indicator of school readiness and academic performance, according to previous research cited in the study, and it even predicts success into adulthood.”
Of course, this is just one study. But it, along with previous studies on the importance of play, should give us pause. Do we allow our children enough time to play? Do we let them get bored so that they have to use their imaginations and create something to do? I know that can be scary. My older brother and I once got our youngest brother stuck in a laundry chute when we had some free time on our hands and thought, “What would happen if…?” (Getting him unstuck is what really required creativity!)
What if the lack of free play is even more serious than hindering creativity and planning skills? According to Peter Gray, professor of psychology at Boston University, “Over the past half-century, in the United States and other developed nations, children’s free play with other children has declined sharply. Over the same period, anxiety, depression, suicide, feelings of helplessness, and narcissism have increased sharply in children, adolescents, and young adults.” While we don’t know the exact relationship between these two trends, it is sobering information to consider.
