The importance of play time
Each Wednesday superintendents from around our region offer insights and news on the school system.
Today is Global School Play Day, a day dedicated to highlighting the importance of unstructured time for children to play. On this date, children are encouraged to play without the use of electronic devices and to take the time to run, play games, use the playground and have a fun time with friends.
As adults, it can be hard for us to let go and not want to organize the day or playtimes for children. We worry about their safety and whether they’re getting along with others. We try to create as many positive experiences for them as we can, because we want our children to be successful at everything they do and ensure they have every possible advantage in their lives. While those may be noble ventures and ideas, in doing so we are removing some of the many opportunities that unstructured play offers.
Whether it is playing a pickup game of soccer on the field at recess, a board game with friends on the weekend or a simple game of tag in the evening, it is during these times that we learn many of the life skills that we will need in the years ahead. Through play, we learn to deal with conflict over unfair play, or those who do not follow the rules. We also learn from our own mistakes. It doesn’t take long to realize jumping off the top of the slide has a negative consequence and is not something to be repeated a second time.
Play allows children to develop the skills of negotiation and the give and take necessary when picking a team or deciding who gets to go first. Through play we learn that feelings can be hurt — and result in as much pain as a physical injury — and that we need to have empathy and understanding for one another. Children learn the art of problem solving without relying on an adult to “make it right” for them. A key component to any type of play is the opportunity it creates to make new friends and to strengthen existing relationships.
Along with all those amazing social skills that will serve us well as we grow up, play provides children the opportunity to expand their creativity and imagination, develop their gross motor skills, and a general sense of wellbeing.
As adults we can create opportunities for children by allowing them the time to play without interference. We can still offer supervision to ensure they are safe, but providing them space to figure out the world on their own is definitely beneficial in the long run.
As Plato once wrote: “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”