Ring around the rosie…

Do you remember when you were a child and had free time to play? What did you do? Who were you? Sometimes, I was an explorer. We would pack a lunch and go to a field in back of our house. If we were lucky, it would have rained and a small pond would have formed where we could catch pollywogs and bring them home and watch them sprout legs and turn into frogs. We always had to check in with one of our parents on the hour. Those were the good ol’ days.

Since the 1970’s, there’s been a 25% drop in our children’s free play and a 50% drop in unstructured outdoor activities.
Since the late 1970’s, kid’s time in organized, adult-supervised sports have doubled and the number of minutes devoted each week to passive leisure (video, computer games) not including watching TV, has increased from 30 minutes to more than 3 hours.
New research shows that letting kids just play has immense value for their social, emotional, cognitive and physical growth. Some of the scientific benefits include:

  • Play boosts creativity and imagination. It gives kids the chance to build, expand, explore and develop a whole different part of the brain.
  • Play stretches our children’s attention spans. Playing outdoors just 30 minutes a day increases a child’s ability to focus and pay attention.
  • Play boosts self-confidence and self-regulation. Kids learn to become masters of their own destiny without an adult directing, pushing, managing or scheduling everything.
  • Play forges friendships, strengthens social competence and teaches social skills. Undirected play allows kids to learn how to work in groups, share, negotiate, communicate and develop core social skills they need, not only now, but for the rest of their lives.
  • Play reduces children’s anxiety and diminishes stress. According to a study published in the “Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry,” “Play is critical for our children’s emotional health because it helps kids work through anxiety and reduce stress.”

With all the benefits, why is free play diminishing? Dr. Dorothy Singer, a Yale psychological researcher states, “Because of the testing, and the emphasis that you really have to pass these tests, teachers are starting earlier and earlier to drill the kids in their basic fundamentals. Play is viewed as unnecessary, a waste of time.” Also, parents have become increasingly concerned about safety and have been driven to create play environments that are secure and safe from the threats of the outside world.

So, what’s the answer and the challenge? I believe it’s balance, which in today’s world is no easy feat. I believe education is extremely important as are organized sports, but let’s try to take a deep breath, let go a little and let our kids catch a few pollywogs along the way.

Mary Ann Carlson is owner of The Pilates Studio. You can reach her at 541-890-7703. See her ad with Pilates Class Schedule on page 14 of the August Jacksonville Review.