{"id":1955,"date":"2012-03-29T16:25:07","date_gmt":"2012-03-29T20:25:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ccpa.scottbuckingham.ca\/blog\/?p=1955"},"modified":"2015-07-03T15:58:45","modified_gmt":"2015-07-03T19:58:45","slug":"the-importance-of-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ccpa-accp.ca\/fr\/the-importance-of-play\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Play"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Children thrive upon play.\u00a0 As a toddler, we mimic our parents, our siblings, our pets, the television, and many other significant participants in our lives.\u00a0 As a child, we are in a perpetual learning curve, constantly seeking to be stimulated.\u00a0 Fostering a need for such stimulation begins within the home.\u00a0 As parents, we are the consummate role model.\u00a0 We are the creative instigator of their developing minds.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Creativity is the freest form of self-expression and, for children, the creative process is more important than the finished product. There is nothing more fulfilling for children than to be able to express themselves freely. The ability to be creative can do much to nurture your children’s emotional health. All children need to be creative is the freedom to commit\u00a0themselves to the effort and make whatever activity they are doing their own.\u00a0<\/p>\n

(PBS, 2012, Online)<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

BENEFITS OF PLAY FOR THE PARENT<\/strong><\/p>\n

As parents we are often caught in the hustle and bustle of the importance<\/em> of our own lives.\u00a0 In general, our society has become plagued with an unrelenting motion of doing, rarely giving way to kindness or compassion or living life to its fullest.<\/p>\n

When was the last time you actively exercised your creative mind?\u00a0 When was the last time you allowed yourself to imagine as a child does? As adults, we are told that we are to \u201cto put away the childish ways of life.\u201d If we asked another adult to play Peek-a-boo, Simon Says, Hopscotch, <\/em>or Tag<\/em>, they would most likely snarl at our ridiculous request.\u00a0 Why? Don\u2019t you know that we are adults and we are suppose to act as an adult?<\/p>\n

When is the last time you asked your child to play hide-and-go-seek<\/em>? You may thinking, Are you ridiculous, I am an adult and I don\u2019t play such games anymore<\/em>? After all, such games are for children<\/em>!\u00a0<\/p>\n

In the 1991 classic movie, Hook;<\/em> a story inspired by the Peter Pan Tales<\/em>; Actor Robin Williams plays the role of Peter Banning a grown up acquisitions lawyer who has lost the magic of being Peter Pan.\u00a0 Sadly, Peter Banning no longer recalls his days as the boy Peter Pan.\u00a0 Nor does he recall how to harness his inner child.\u00a0 Thankfully, Peter Banning\u2019s tale does not end as an emotionally broke man, rather Peter Banning gains inspiration from a variety of characters including his own children to once again gain the spirit of Peter Pan.\u00a0 How does this apply to you? Are you living as Peter Banning or Peter Pan?\u00a0<\/p>\n

Children can inspire the child within us!<\/p>\n

If you want to break the cycle of being an adult in all things, then I encourage you to begin actively seeking ways to play.\u00a0 You need to set your adult mind free of the dos-and-don\u2019ts of our society.\u00a0 Consider the following exercise:\u00a0<\/p>\n

Go to a mall with friends to play peek-a-boo.\u00a0 What were people\u2019s verbal responses? What was your perception of their nonverbal language?\u00a0 How did it feel to be playing \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 peek-a-boo with someone other than a toddler or infant?\u00a0 Did you feel embarrassed? Why?\u00a0 Write about this experience: (Brown, 2010, p. 64)<\/p>\n

Parents must purposefully set aside the time to actively interact and play with their children.\u00a0 When playing with your child, be certain that you are being consciously attentive.\u00a0 As parents, we know the rules <\/em>to many games; do not allow your knowledge of the rules<\/em> to detract from this time of play.\u00a0 Allow for your child\u2019s imagination to guide this playtime.\u00a0<\/p>\n

BENEFITS OF PLAY FOR THE CHILD<\/strong><\/p>\n

Make your children the point-of-interest, avoid playing games whereby your child is not the center of your attention.\u00a0 Avoid playing video games or some other electronic devices that may detract from your play time.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Be interactive, communicating your ambitions, goals, and desires for play.\u00a0 Give your child the reigns to this playtime.\u00a0 Do not detract by saying, \u201cwell this is how the game is played.\u201d Rather, allow your child\u2019s imagination to be front-and-center.\u00a0 When a child is allowed the freedom to be imaginative, they are encouraged to contextually think \u201coutside the box.\u201d\u00a0 Research has shown that a child who is granted the freedom of imagination, has a higher probability of being\u00a0 emotionally and cognitively expressive.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Children who are not granted the right to be imaginative are less likely:\u00a0 to develop friendships based on social play or to play on their own. When children are not provided the benefits of imagination, they are more likely to be at odds with the personal application of self-soothing and self-comforting .\u00a0\u00a0 Children who have a healthy imagination have greater chances of handling stress induced environments.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cKids can become overwhelmed by their emotions but by using their imaginations, they can master their feelings. If a child is afraid of a monster, he can make up a story about hunting down the monster and scaring it and turning it into something else. He’s found a way to transform it.\u201d (Mandell, 2012, Online)<\/p>\n

BENEFITS OF CHILD – PARENT PLAY<\/strong><\/p>\n

Research has shown that parents who are actively involved in playful dynamics have a higher likelihood of establishing a positive relationship with their child.\u00a0 Moreover, the benefits of play for a child are countless, they include:\u00a0<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0 Social appropriateness and interaction<\/p>\n

2.\u00a0 Personal awareness<\/p>\n

3.\u00a0 Increased awareness of social correctness and skills<\/p>\n

4.\u00a0 A boost to a child\u2019s self-esteem, self-worth, and value<\/p>\n

5.\u00a0 Is a building block for a child\u2019s imagination<\/p>\n

6.\u00a0 Increased emotional tolerance and readiness for life<\/p>\n

7.\u00a0 Children have an increased awareness of their surroundings<\/p>\n

8.\u00a0 Increased abstract reasoning\u00a0<\/p>\n

The benefits for the parent – child relationship is unity.\u00a0\u00a0 In an age that we are frequently overworked, underpaid, and stressed; play decreases our anxieties, our negative thinking, while increasing our own imagination.\u00a0\u00a0 Therefore, if we intentionally make play a habitual act in our own lives, then we have a higher likelihood of\u00a0 being free of our worldly discomforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Play is not the only catalyst of good health, but play along with mental and physical care will increase our chances of living a fulfilled life.\u00a0\u00a0 In all things, remind your children that you love them unconditionally. <\/em><\/p>\n

REFERENCES<\/p>\n

Brown, Asa Don (2010) Waiting to live.<\/em> Indiana: iUniverse<\/p>\n

Seligman, M. E. (1995) The optimistic child, A revolutionary program that safeguards children against depression and builds lifelong resilience.<\/em> New York: Houghton Mifflin Company<\/p>\n

Mandell, S. (2012) Nurturing imagination<\/em>. Retrieved March 25, 2012, from http:\/\/www.wholefamily.com\/grandparent-center\/imagination-at-risk\/nurturing-imagination<\/a><\/p>\n

Public Broadcasting Station, PBS (2012) Creativity and play: Fostering creativity<\/em>. Retrieved March 24, 2012, from http:\/\/www.pbs.org\/wholechild\/parents\/play.html<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Children thrive upon play.\u00a0 As a toddler, we mimic our parents, our siblings, our pets, the television, and many other significant participants in our lives.\u00a0 As a child, we are in a perpetual learning curve, constantly seeking to be stimulated.\u00a0 Fostering a need for such stimulation begins within the home.\u00a0 As parents, we are the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001014,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[556,168,329,557,260,558,517,155,489,559,560,561,536],"class_list":["post-1955","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-parentingchildrenandtheclassroom","tag-abstract-reasoning","tag-children","tag-dr-asa-don-brown","tag-nurturing-imagination","tag-parents","tag-play","tag-self-awareness","tag-self-esteem","tag-self-worth","tag-social-appropriateness","tag-the-importance-of-play","tag-the-optimistic-child","tag-unconditional-love"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Importance of Play - 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