Guest Blogger Melissa Hincha-Ownby – The Importance of Play
Fairy Princess Dress-up Fun
As a mother of two, I have come to realize the importance of play. Playtime is an integral part of each child’s development, whether it is structured or unstructured. Play begins soon after a child is born and continues on through the child’s life. Naturally, the type of playful interactions change through the child’s lifespan but one thing remains consistent, the fact that play is important.
Some may ask, then, how important is play? The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has actually included play in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 of the Convention states:
- States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
- States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.“
Imaginative Play promotes healthy children
Through play, children can develop many skills including language, cognitive, motor development, social skills, and of course boost their creativity. While structured play can be beneficial, it is important to avoid over scheduling a child. The child that has more access to unstructured play will typically be the more creative and imaginative child.
One important developmental skill that is helped by unstructured play is the ability for a child to self-regulate. The child that gets too much screen time (computers, video games, television) or spends the majority of their playtime in structured lessons will not develop the keen ability to self-regulate as well the child that has more access to unstructured play.
Tea Party - a great playtime activity!
As technology has become commonplace, it seems as though the importance of unstructured play has become a lost message. Instead of getting together after school to engage in imaginative play, many children are instead playing video games with one another from the comfort of their own separate homes.
Play is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of growing up. Children learn so much through play and it is important to continue to foster a child’s love of unstructured and creative play.
For more information on the effect that play has on a child’s development, read the following from the American Academy of Pediatrics: The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds (PDF).
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Melissa is a freelance writer and blogs about raising environmentally conscious children at RaisingThemGreen.com. Additionally, Melissa is the Featured Business Blogger at the Mother Nature Network (http://www.mnn.com/users/mhownby).
Convention on the Rights of the Child – http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds – http://www.aap.org/pressroom/playFINAL.pdf
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Tags: imaginative play, parenting, pretend play, raising healthy happy children
Fairy Princess Dress-up Fun
As a mother of two, I have come to realize the importance of play. Playtime is an integral part of each child’s development, whether it is structured or unstructured. Play begins soon after a child is born and continues on through the child’s life. Naturally, the type of playful interactions change through the child’s lifespan but one thing remains consistent, the fact that play is important.
Some may ask, then, how important is play? The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has actually included play in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Article 31 of the Convention states:
- States Parties recognize the right of the child to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate freely in cultural life and the arts.
- States Parties shall respect and promote the right of the child to participate fully in cultural and artistic life and shall encourage the provision of appropriate and equal opportunities for cultural, artistic, recreational and leisure activity.“
Imaginative Play promotes healthy children
Through play, children can develop many skills including language, cognitive, motor development, social skills, and of course boost their creativity. While structured play can be beneficial, it is important to avoid over scheduling a child. The child that has more access to unstructured play will typically be the more creative and imaginative child.
One important developmental skill that is helped by unstructured play is the ability for a child to self-regulate. The child that gets too much screen time (computers, video games, television) or spends the majority of their playtime in structured lessons will not develop the keen ability to self-regulate as well the child that has more access to unstructured play.
Tea Party - a great playtime activity!
As technology has become commonplace, it seems as though the importance of unstructured play has become a lost message. Instead of getting together after school to engage in imaginative play, many children are instead playing video games with one another from the comfort of their own separate homes.
Play is undoubtedly one of the most important parts of growing up. Children learn so much through play and it is important to continue to foster a child’s love of unstructured and creative play.
For more information on the effect that play has on a child’s development, read the following from the American Academy of Pediatrics: The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds (PDF).
_________________________________________________________________________________
Melissa is a freelance writer and blogs about raising environmentally conscious children at RaisingThemGreen.com. Additionally, Melissa is the Featured Business Blogger at the Mother Nature Network (http://www.mnn.com/users/mhownby).
Convention on the Rights of the Child – http://www2.ohchr.org/english/law/crc.htm
The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds – http://www.aap.org/pressroom/playFINAL.pdf
Related articles by Zemanta
- TV viewing before the age of 2 has no cognitive benefit, study finds (scienceblog.com)
- Motherlode: Babies and the Boob Tube (parenting.blogs.nytimes.com)
- Want a smart baby? TV’s not going to help (cnn.com)
- Vital Signs: Children: Early Swim Lessons May Reduce Drowning (nytimes.com)
- Kids Who Lack Self-Control More Prone to Obesity Later (time.com)
- Screentime and Obesity in Children (5min.com)
Tags: imaginative play, parenting, pretend play, raising healthy happy children
May 25th, 2009 at 9:48 pm
[...] have a guest post over on the Princess Time Toys & Pets blog: The Importance of Imaginative Play for Children. Here’s an [...]
May 27th, 2009 at 5:18 am
When I read the line about children needing unstructured play time and the link with creativity, I had to chuckle. As we travel, our 5yo Lila has a huge abundance of lack of structure. I often wonder if it would be better for her to be in one place with one group of people with more dependable structure.
On the other side of things, because Lila spends so much time with the two of us, we have become her playmates. We have tea parties, play in the sand, turn rocks into pets. I feel like she’s taught us how to play again.
Thank you for your post. It brings up very important points, and I particularly appreciate the links you’ve included as resources.