Serious Need For Play

"Free, imaginative play is crucial for normal social, emotional and cognitive development. It makes us better adjusted, smarter and less stressed." This bold statement comes not from the latest issue of Young Children, or a keynoter at the annual meeting of the Chicago Metro AEYC, but from the SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN MIND magazine (February 2009). The article, "The Serious Need For Play" by Melinda Wenner, provides a strong, research-based case for the value of play in the lives of children. Every early childhood program should hand out copies of the article to parents, politicians and funders. Here are some points Wenner makes...
"(Researcher Stuart Brown) has interviewed some 6,000 people about their childhoods, and his data suggests that a lack of opportunities for unstructured, imaginative play can keep children from growing into happy, well-adjusted adults. Free play... is critical for becoming socially adept, coping with stress, and building cognitive skills such as problem solving."
"Studies show that children use more sophiscated language when playing with other children than when playing with adults. In pretend play, for instance, they have to communicate about something that's not physically present, so they have to use complicated language in such a way that they can communicate to their peer what it is that they're trying to say."
"Researchers at the University of Washington gave a box of toy blocks to children from middle - and low-income families aged 18 months to two and a half years. parents of these kids, as well as parents of a similiar group of kids who had no blocks, kept track of how often the children played. After six months, the kids who had played with blocks scored significantly higher on language tests that the others did."