All work and lots of play
THE WAY CHILDREN PLAY IS EVOLVING BUT CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS POSITIVE, WRITES DR JUSTIN COULSON
Our kids need to play. Lots. Child development experts say play is essential for learning and development. It’s through play that children develop motor skills, explore and extend their physical capabilities. Children practise curiosity and creativity through play. They develop listening skills and social abilities as they try on new identities with social games like “mummies and daddies” or “doctors and nurses”. They grow and develop socially, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and cognitively through play.
I WANT to ask you two questions. Pretty simple ones.
First, how do your children play? Second, how is their play different from the play you enjoyed when you were young?
Consider your answers for just a moment. Is there much difference between the two?
Our kids need to play. Lots. Child development experts say play is essential for learning and development. It’s through play that children develop motor skills, explore and extend their physical capabilities.
Children practise curiosity and creativity through play.
They develop listening skills and social abilities as they try on new identities with social games like “mummies and daddies” or “doctors and nurses”. They grow and develop socially, physically, emotionally, psychologically, and cognitively through play.
But there is little question children today play differently to children two decades ago.
Children’s play in the 21st Century has changed.
Professor Susan Edwards is the director of the Early Childhood Futures Research Group in the Learning Sciences Institute at the Australian Catholic University in Melbourne.
She says “play is evolving, but not shrinking”.
As evidence of this evolution, the Australian child health poll recently investigated digital media use for children. Infants and toddlers are engaging with screens of one kind or another about 12-14 hours per week.
To put that into perspective, experts argue this figure should be as close to zero as possible. And two- to six-yearold children are on screens about 26 hours per week. That’s more than three hours per day! (Our teens hit a whopping 43 hours per week.)
I don’t like these numbers. And I see them taking away from play time. Edwards, however, suggests an alternative perspective.
“While it isn’t what we did as children, being on the iPad in the car is play. If you’re on the way to swimming and your kids are playing an online game with friends — the same friends they’ve been with all day, that’s still play. If they’re building a world on Minecraft, that is play, isn’t it?”
She acknowledges this new kind of “play” encroaches on kids’ play in other areas. And some researchers have highlighted concerns that screenfocused play may interfere with healthy development. Why? Children focused on a screen are less likely to be moving. Physical play is crucial for a child’s health and wellbeing.
Children focused on a screen are less likely to be outside. Nature is fuel for the soul, and is also crucial for a child’s health and wellbeing.
Children focused on a screen are less likely to be engaging with others socially. Social skills are being affected. It is true older children have social platforms where they can be “with” their friends, but a significant amount of time online is spent in less social activities. Building social resources is crucial for a child’s health and wellbeing.
Children focused on a screen are likely to struggle more with language development. The ability to communicate is obviously crucial for a child’s health and wellbeing.
Children focused on a screen experience less sleep and poorer quality sleep.
Studies confirm sleep is crucial for children’s health and wellbeing.
Children focused on a screen are less likely to build their cognitive resources. Most apps have been shown to be anything but educational.
There are very few apps that are truly good for cognitive growth — and the reality is that our kids don’t need a headstart with reading and number recognition courtesy of an app.
We have a perfectly adequate school system to guide them. Counting while they move toys around, or counting while cooking with mum or dad in the kitchen (or while they put apples into a basket at the shops) will be a more valuable educational experience.
Children focused on a screen are less likely to creatively use their imagination, experience cognitive complexity, or build and create things. It is true some kids have done amazingly creative things and the internet can facilitate their curiosity, but this is unusual.
It is true they are playing. And no one is arguing screenplay is not play. But there are very real concerns that it is not always the kind of play that leads to the best outcomes for children. So what kind of play is optimal? Edwards suggests:
Try to make play outside and active — younger kids love tactile experiences, so sand, paint, water, rice, or anything they can explore with their hands will be fun.
Promote talking, co-operation, and interaction by encouraging social play over solitary play where possible (though children should have the opportunity to do both).
For kids under two, stay away from screens. For older kids, screens are fine in moderation, but consider whether they’ve had physical play, social time, and reading. Make sure they’ve done their chores, and ensure that they don’t have screen time too close to bed.
Ultimately, Edwards says: “How and what children play depends on experiences and resources available.” If they don’t have screens, they’ll play something else. If they don’t have toys, they’ll play with a stick or whatever they can find around the house.
“So long as they’re playing, they’re learning, growing, and developing.”
We really don’t know if all play is equal. But as play evolves, I feel a craving for the kind of play that encouraged physical activity, face-to-face interaction, and a tactile creative process.
I long for my kids to explore the nearby bushland or park, and come home exhausted and ready for high-quality sleep.
The evolution of play feels as though it is taking that away.