Does Your Child Play Enough?

By Meghan Vivo

Your son gets straight As in school, plays competitive sports and leads a number of school clubs. Your daughter is on student council, takes advanced classes and volunteers at the local animal shelter. They do their chores, finish their homework each night and spend time with the family. But between balancing all of these responsibilities, are your children playing enough?

That’s not a question that parents used to need to ask. The familiar knock at the door with the friendly neighbor asking, “Can Johnny come out and play?” meant after-school was play time - and the more time spent running around outside the better.

Of course, those were different times. The amount of time that children spend playing each day has gone down significantly over the last two decades. In 1989, a survey by the National Association of Elementary School Principals found that 96 percent of schools had at least one recess period. Ten years later, a similar survey found that only 70 percent of kindergarten classes offered even one recess period each day.

Today, busy schedules, increased school workloads and concerns about safety make it difficult for children to squeeze in much old-fashioned, uninhibited play time. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), kids are playing less both at home and at school. The AAP cites changes in family structure, the increasingly competitive college admissions process, and federal education policies that have led to reduced recess and physical education in many schools as a few of the reasons why children today spend less time playing.

The result of all this seriousness, according to some experts, is an increase in obesity, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), childhood depression, behavioral problems and social skill deficits.

The Benefits of Play

Play is an important part of growing up, according to Stuart Brown, MD, the founder of the National Institute of Play and author of Play: How It Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul. Not only is play fun, says Dr. Brown, but it is a biological necessity that is hardwired into our brains and is as integral to our health as sleep or nutrition. In fact, he calls play “the single most significant factor in determining our success and happiness.”

Research has shown that play is essential for brain development. In an article titled “Let the Children Play (Some More)” in The New York Times, Dr. Brown explained, “Deprive a social mammal like a rat or monkey of its normal rough-and-tumble play and it enters adulthood emotionally fragile, unable to tell friend from foe, poor at handling stress and lacking the skills to mate properly.”

After conducting more than 6,000 “play histories” of all types of people, from serial murderers to Nobel Prize winners, Dr. Brown concluded that a lack of play in childhood can have devastating results in adulthood. He wrote, “Play-deprived adults are often rigid, humorless, inflexible and closed to trying out new options. Playfulness enhances the capacity to innovate, adapt and master changing circumstances. It is not just an escape. It can help us integrate and reconcile difficult or contradictory circumstances. And, often, it can show us a way out of our problems.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics advises parents that free and unstructured play is not only healthy, but essential for helping children reach important social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones.

Kids spend most of their young lives doing what other people tell them to do. But during play time, they’re in charge. They decide what to do and how to do it, without the threat of being told they’re wrong. When they achieve small victories and discover new things they can do, play helps cement their decision-making skills and builds self-esteem.

Play time also stirs the imagination and allows children to explore their world, test their theories, practice adult roles and learn about how things work. Although most kids start with toys, they eventually advance to playing with their parents and other children - an experience that helps them develop social skills such as sharing, empathy, self-advocacy and conflict resolution, as well as language and problem-solving skills.

Balancing Work and Play

Play is important, but the answer isn’t to abandon opportunities for academic enrichment or stop participating in organized activities. Instead, the AAP recommends striking a balance between work and play.

"The challenge for society, schools, and parents is to strike the balance that allows all children to reach their potential, without pushing them beyond their personal comfort limits, and while allowing them personal free time," states a report by the AAP.

So how can parents keep their children safe while allowing them the freedom to grow? Here are a few recommendations from the AAP:

• Give kids plenty of unscheduled time to be creative, to reflect and to decompress.
• Encourage your children to engage in active play (running around or playing tag) rather than passive entertainment (video games or television).
• Buy your children toys like blocks or dolls, which encourage imagination and creativity.
• Spend unscheduled, unstructured time with your kids.
• Talk to your children about whether they’re feeling overly tired, burned out or overscheduled.
• Let your children have a say in which extracurricular activities they are involved in.
• Get involved in your child's school and take an active role in ensuring that all students are getting enough free time.

Summer camps are another excellent option, particularly for children and teens with ADHD who show improved ability to concentrate after spending time outdoors, according to a study in the Journal of Attention Disorders.

“Camp provides a structured and safe environment where children learn to take appropriate risks with a highly trained staff to support them every step of the way,” says Aaron McGinley, the Clinical Services Manager at Talisman Camps for children with ADHD and related issues.

Although academics, extracurricular activities and family obligations are essential for success in today’s competitive world, there should also be time set aside for lighthearted fun. Contrary to what many parents believe, play isn’t a waste of time. It is a treasured part of childhood that will help your kids grow into intelligent, well-adjusted adults.