Let Children Play!

Let Children Play!
by Valerie Fronczek

“I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing.”
Isaac Newton

“[Play] is a developmental progression in which the child adds new, more complex understandings about the world at each stage.”
Arthur Erikson

“Imagination is more important than knowledge.”
Albert Einstein

It's hard to believe that something as natural as children's play could be in any way threatened. Yet there is growing worldwide concern, on the part of play specialists, that this is indeed the case. With increasing competition for children's time, play is simply not being taken seriously enough.

The importance of play is strongly supported by researchers from a range of disciplines including psychology, education, philosophy, anthropology and recreation. In spite of this, society as a whole continues to view play as a frivolous pastime. How can we gain a better understanding of play? Let's begin by examining real-life examples of children's play and some of the barriers children face.

Preschoolers are playing in a muddy puddle. Some are jumping up and down in it. Others are gouging "rivers" into another puddle. One small girl is scooping some water in a container and watering a nearby plant; another is throwing pebbles and watching the patterns she's making in the water.

Children are learning about cause and effect; they're experiencing weights and distances; they're learning about the environment; they're learning about each other; they're learning the feeling of control. Water is a wonderful play element. Children love its feel, its malleability. Trying to keep children clean is one of the greatest barriers to this kind of play.

A group of children are building a fort in a backyard. There's a great deal of discussion about its design, about where to build it and about who should be doing what.

This is social development. This is learning to get along with others, arguably the most important aspect of human development. There is also much learning through trial and error and a great deal of physical exercise as materials are being lifted and pulled around. Barriers to this kind of play are lack of suitable space and materials (unfortunately there are not too many public parks that accommodate this kind of activity), and attitudes of some adults toward noisy and messy play. Lack of time may also be a factor as this kind of play requires not only positive attitudes but for an adult to be within hailing distance for many hours.

A group of children have developed an elaborate network of roads and villages at the foot of a tree trunk. They've used found materials such as pine cones, sticks and small pieces of wood. Where the scape spills out onto a driveway, they've used chalk to depict the roads. Toy vehicles have been used to populate the scene as well as a strange mixture of farm animals and dinosaurs.

Children's imaginations are at work here. The intricacies of the earthwork show an incredible amount of planning and co-operation between the players. Here we see examples of both social and cognitive development. The main obstacle to this type of play is time. This constantly changing play-scape absorbed six four-to-eight-year-old children for five weeks (about 80 hours) before a new game was introduced.

Four seven-year olds – after making the rules – are playing a complex game of hopscotch.

This game is high in play value. They have first designed the game – with a version for the younger members – and then honed their aiming and counting skills. This is physically challenging (the design extends to about 20 feet!) and they are all determined to finish, which, when they do, increases their general feeling of well-being. Obstacles here are the gradual disappearance of children's traditional games from their experience and, in some cases, restrictions in the use of chalk in public places.

A large group of children, ranging in age from 4 to 12, are organizing a theatre event. Listening to the discussion we hear that the neighbourhood will be treated to a show of music, dance and gymnastics and a play with puppets about a sick child who eventually gets better. All this for an entrance fee of $3.00. The discussions are only occasionally interrupted with rehearsals of the actual program. From time to time there is some discord, but problems are worked out.

This incorporates every aspect of child development, including therapeutic value because one of the children is soon to be hospitalized. There are opportunities for a wide variety of experiences; for children to experiment. The main obstacle for such all-absorbing play is time and opportunities for children of different ages to come together informally.

Lastly, we have a group of children (not all boys!) playing street hockey. There is lots of exhilaration; lots of noise. There is also a group of skateboarders close by leaping off the sidewalk curb.

Emotional, social and physical development are all involved. If we want young people to stay physically healthy, children's need for spontaneous, boisterous play must be better accommodated particularly in our urban neighbourhoods. Many children cannot afford the equipment and the fees associated with organized sport, which in any case has limited spontaneous play value.

Common Denominators
There are important common denominators in the above examples that reveal the essence of play.

• Play is initiated and controlled by children, not adults.
• The process involves exploration, investigation and manipulation; there is no prescribed outcome.
• Play behaviour is driven solely by intrinsic motivation and is therefore, more often than not, sustainable over long periods of time.

Play is about children being in control – a reversal of power if you like – and providing them an opportunity to be truly engaged in exploration and experiment. There is no need for direction, no right or wrong way of doing things. Children play for the pleasure of causing things to happen. By being in control they are able to reach a comfortable level of stimulation, preventing boredom on the one hand and too much excitement or stress on the other. Either way, it feels good. This is nature's way of maintaining a healthy balance in children's lives.

But spontaneous play does not fit well with our growing need for empirical, measurable outcomes. Emphasis in schools, and even preschools, is increasingly on the acquisition of skills. Ironically, the connection between play and flexibility and creativity – invaluable assets today in both personal and professional life – is often lost.

The value of play, like play itself, is illusive. Children play when they want to – when conditions are right. These conditions involve a combination of settings, people and, most importantly, time. Children cannot be made to play. They can become engaged in an activity that is set for them (e.g., stacking a set of coloured blocks) very easily. The beauty of play as a process of learning is that it is self-driven, and therefore sustainable over much longer periods of time.

The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child recognizes play as one of the basic human rights of children (Article 31). If we are to influence the fulfillment of this right, we must recognize that play is not just about providing safe playgrounds and organized “play activities”. It is fundamentally about protecting children's freedom to explore, discover and interact with the physical and social world around them. The twenty-first century offers serious threats to this seemingly natural and simple aspect of human development, not the least of which is excessive control of children's time. We must be vigilant in protecting the child's right to play.

Valerie Fronczek is the executive director of the Society for Children and Youth of B.C., communications director for the International Association for the Child's Right to Play (ipa) and vice-president of the Canadian Coalition for the Rights of the Child.

Interaction, Vol. 16, No. 2, Summer 2002, p. 19-20.