Shop by Topic
Shop by Product
ExchangeEveryDay Past Issues
<< Previous Issue
| View Past Issues | | Next Issue >> 
Old-Fashioned Play
December 15, 2010
“Our emotional life maps our incompleteness...A creature without any needs would never have reasons for fear, or grief, or hope, or anger.”
-Martha Nussbaum
-Martha Nussbaum
"...For most of human history what children did when they played was roam in packs, large or small, more or less unsupervised, and engage in freewheeling imaginative play. They were pirates and princesses, aristocrats and action heroes.... They improvised their own play; they regulated their play; they made up their own rules....
"But during the second half of the 20th century... play changed radically.... Children were supplied with ever more specific toys for play and predetermined scripts. Essentially, instead of playing pirate with a tree branch, they played Star Wars with a toy light saber....
"A growing number of psychologists believe that these changes in what children do has also changed kids' cognitive and emotional development. It turns out that all that time spent playing make-believe actually helped children develop a critical cognitive skill called executive function. Executive function has a number of different elements, but a central one is the ability to self-regulate. Kids with good self-regulation are able to control their emotions and behavior, resist impulses, and exert self-control and discipline.
"We know that children's capacity for self-regulation has diminished. A recent study replicated a study of self-regulation first done in the late 1940s, in which psychological researchers asked kids ages 3, 5, and 7 to do a number of exercises. One of those exercises included standing perfectly still without moving. The 3-year-olds couldn't stand still at all, the 5-year-olds could do it for about three minutes, and the 7-year-olds could stand pretty much as long as the researchers asked. In 2001, researchers repeated this experiment... but the results were very different. Today's 5-year-olds were acting at the level of 3-year-olds 60 years ago, and today's 7-year-olds were barely approaching the level of a 5-year-old 60 years ago...
"...Self-regulation is incredibly important. Poor executive function is associated with high dropout rates, drug use, and crime. In fact, good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child's IQ. Children who are able to manage their feelings and pay attention are better able to learn.... Self-regulation predicts effective development in virtually every domain.
"...Essentially, because children's play is so focused on lessons and leagues, and because kids' toys increasingly inhibit imaginative play, kids aren't getting a chance to practice policing themselves."
Thanks to Zia Dover for sharing this important story.
A Personal Journey to save 20% on Teaching Four-Year-Olds |
|
|
What does every young child need to be a well-adjusted, happy person? From Carol Hillman's years of experience and wisdom comes the answer: Help each child discover a world where play, creative freedom, self trust, and personal responsibility open the child's mind and heart to the excitement of learning and the enjoyment of sharing it with others.|
Enter coupon code "FOUR" when at checkout.
 Offer valid through June 9, 2020 at 11:59 pm Pacific Time. |
ExchangeEveryDay
Delivered five days a week containing news, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
What is ExchangeEveryDay?
ExchangeEveryDay is the official electronic newsletter for Exchange Press. It is delivered five days a week containing news stories, success stories, solutions, trend reports, and much more.
Specialty insurance for your childcare center. NSI, West Bend’s specialty division can help.
Visit TheSilverLining.com for more information.
Never enter data twice! EZ-CARE2 integrated accounting or Gold-Certified QuickBooks integration eliminates duplicate data entry. Get an info packet and demo CD!
Comments (8)
Displaying 5 of 8 Comments [ View all ]madison, wi, United States
I needed this reminder. After Santa brought Wii and a few other electronic games for my 3-year-old, all he wants to do is play "games." It's all I can do to get him to play an actual board game now or even to [play, "I'm a pirate and you're a T-Rex," a pre-holiday season favorite. How can I return him to the imaginative space he once had? No, throwing out the TV or the Wii is not a good option. Any others?
Thermalito Union School District
Oroville , California, United States
This is so true, I am an early childhood educator and I see this everyday. I think this article should be given to every pediatrician in the country so they can pass it onto parents.
United States
Ahhh, the benefits of not having a television in my home. My child is not captivated by Disney or other marketing gurus. She is simply a little girl in love with animals - especially horses and fish. She runs around neighing. She lays on the floor “scuba diving”. Yes, for a short while, we are free of commercialism.
Funny thing, adults out in public look at her as if she’s strange. When she tells them her name is “Horsey”, they answer: “Okay…” As if having an active imagination is odd.
Deaconess Children\'s Services
Everett, WA, United States
For many years, children's advocates, psychologists, teachers, parents and even the children themselves have been saying the same things. Unstructured, imaginative play is vital for healthy child development and for them to grow into healthy adolescents and productive adults. A big challenge lies in keeping them safe when out of their parents' immediate line of sight.
Bright Horizons Family Solutions
Wellington, FL, United States
For more on this important topic, view a wonderful documentary called New York Street Games. We need to challenge ourselves to provide children with the freedom to be creative problem solvers within a planned environment.
Post a Comment