Connections to Play

Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.

Kay Redfield Jamison
Contemporary American professor of psychiatry

In play, a child always behaves beyond his average age, above his daily behavior. In play, it is as though he were a head taller than himself.

Lev Vygotsky
Russian psychologist
1896–1934

Children learn as they play. Most importantly, in play children learn how to learn.

O. Fred Donaldson
Contemporary American martial arts master

If you want to be creative, stay in part a child, with the creativity and invention that characterizes children before they are deformed by adult society.

Jean Piaget
Swiss philosopher
1896–1980

When I was younger, we spent most our times out of the house while we played. My brother and I used to run around the house, we use to pretend that we were archaeologist, always digging in the ground trying to find a “new species”. We played a lot with our neighborhood friends, we rode our bicycles to see who could go faster, and we had our fun times outside. As we got a little older, I think we got the Nintendo, but our mother monitored our time usage, so we would not be glued in front of the television. My dad, my brother and I would play one of our favorite sports called Cricket, some Saturdays we went outside and had to use a bat and a ball. This is one of my most fond memories. Our parents ensured we had a balance between play and schoolwork. For the mot part, we were allowed to play when we reached home from school, but in the evening hours, we would have to focus on schoolwork.

Play today is very different, when I travel on the bus or train I usually see a child whose head is bent low and their hands are moving, means they are playing on their PSP or DS or some handheld device. This culture continues when they reach home, they put down the PSP and then go on their Wii or tablet to continue playing the same game. In the classrooms, the use of technology is evident as lessons are taught using iPad or personal computers. However, children are not limited by technology; they still like to enjoy free play without use of technology like running around and driving their parents wild.

I still love the idea of play, I love my children in kindergarten showing me what they have made using Legos or building blocks, and I love their imagination and thought process. I am still a child at heart (I believe), so I enjoy playtime. During playtime at home, parents can use this as an opportunity to talk with their children while engaging in talk.