Although learning takes place throughout the life cycle, the greatest opportunities and the greatest risks occur during the first years of life. An individual’s capacity to learn and to thrive depends on an interplay between nature and nurture. It is not either/or; it is definitely ‘and’. Children are either stifled or given wings depending upon the experiences they are afforded and the only thing they know about the impossible is what we teach them.
I saw a meme recently that said being a parent is basically telling your child they can be anything they want to be and then yelling, “No! Stop! Don’t do that!” the rest of the time. At first I laughed – trust me, I’ve been there, toddler on the big kid play equipment anyone? Play structures of death, I’m telling you! But I digress. After I finished giggling I started thinking about that meme though. I just couldn’t help but think of how easy it is to parent from a platform of safety and convenience, but bravery must be mirrored.
It is absolutely integral to your child’s development to allow calculated risks and opportunities to make messes and mistakes. It is said that creativity is the willingness to make mistakes, art is knowing which ones to keep. Children who are not afforded the opportunity to make mistakes will be unwilling to make them as adults. They will also never learn which ones to keep. Be brave enough to cultivate creative souls. Be brave enough to raise artists.
To quote one of my favorite teachers, “take chances, make mistakes, and get messy.” Depending on your age, you may be too young to be acquainted with the original Magic School Bus. One of my proudest mom moments was my 4 year old telling me I was cooler than “the Frizz”. Mom goals attained right there, I’m telling you!
Albert Einstein said that play is the highest form of research. You know what? He was right. Play is not frivolous, it is brain building. By definition play is intrinsically motivated. People and many animals engage in it just because. It is fun. It brings joy. It is how we discover the inner workings of this crazy thing we call life and the world we live in.
Did you know play is essential for healthy brain development? A schema is a set of ideas that your brain uses to perceive and interpret new information. Your schema is determined by the people you meet, things you’ve done, places you’ve gone, books you’ve read – basically everything you experience. I like to describe your schema this way – our brain is like a filing cabinet and all the experiences we have during our formative years are the hanging file folders providing us space to fill in information down the road.
One of the things that really stuck with me from my schooling relates to the time it takes for a new synapse to form in the brain. 400 repetitions. Let that sink in. 400 repetitions. UNLESS. (Can you feel me pulling out my inner Lorax here?) Unless it is learned via play. When you are learning through play a new synapse can be formed in 15 to 20 repetitions. That is the power of play, my friends.
Information obtained through play is recalled with greater accuracy and with more consistency than information given through direct instruction. I am a firm believer in the power of play!
Another benefit of play is that it helps reduce obesity and associated diseases. Toddlers with plenty of chances to run, jump, and climb grow into kids who are physically confident and are more likely to be active and healthy adults. When you allow your toddler to climb play equipment, jump in puddles, and run around like their hair is on fire they are able to develop a level of body awareness that is increasingly lacking in a screen heavy society.
Play also helps children manage stress. Children who have meaningful, child-led play interactions with adults experience a reduction in cortisol. The American Academy of Pediatrics stayed, “In addition to boosting a child’s health and development, play helps to build the safe, stable and nurturing relationships that buffer against toxic stress and build social-emotional resilience.”
If you want to strengthen your family bond, PLAY! It will boost relationship between children and their adult every time. Conversations during play are brain building. They encourage your child’s ability to respond appropriately to another’s feelings. This in turn helps children learn to regulate their emotions when things don’t go as planned down the road.
The last benefit of play I will cover today is it’s contribution to building a child’s academic skills. While this should truly be the least of our worries, it is often what people worry about the most. Improvisational pretend play, not direct instruction, is what feeds both language development and general knowledge.
When you play with your child and chat, they hear your words and are building their vocabulary. When they hear your sentences, they are learning the structure and mechanics of our language. When you play blocks and count the blocks in a tower, your child is learning about one-to-one correlation and number sense. When your child inevitably knocks over the tower you just built, they are learning about cause and effect! The power of play, my friends!
So why do we play? To learn. To grow. To live. Until next time, be your child’s hero and exercise your superpowers – PLAY!
The Superpower of Play 