My apologies that I’ve been neglecting this blog over the past summer. This week, I was resolved to write a blog post, but unsure about a topic. Yesterday, a newspaper article magically landed on my kitchen table and gave me the inspiration I needed.
The article is entitled Start Horsing Around and originally appeared in the Chicago Tribune (click on the link to read the full article). It quotes several experts that say roughhousing with your children, and allowing them unstructured play with each other, has many benefits. Among them:
- It improves physical fitness;
- It fosters a deeper connection between parent and child, because the parent must be tuned in to the child’s emotions and needs;
- It teaches children to manage their emotions;
- It gives children a moral compass, because they see someone bigger and stronger holding back; and
- It creates opportunities for children to resolve their own conflicts.
I was particularly impressed by this quote:
Today’s kids live increasingly structured lives; as a result, “we’ve lost the culture of childhood, where they play their own games, have their own fights and resolve them,” said David Elkind, a professor emeritus of child development at Tufts University and the author of The Power of Play. “A lot of the bullying that goes on in schools is largely a result that children no longer have this culture of spontaneous play.”
I added the bold type at the end of the quote. It makes you think, doesn’t it? I have long been an advocate of bringing play and fun back into the lives of our children. While I was surprised to hear that the rougher physical play is so beneficial, I guess I shouldn’t have been. Most of us engaged in this type of play when we were younger, and learned valuable lessons along the way.
I hope this gets you thinking about playing with your own children. Not sure how to begin? Try a Kindermusik Imagine That! or ABC Music & Me class, where we engage in pretend play during class and give you ideas each week about how to continue at home all week long. I’ll look forward to playing with you and your children soon!
Filed under: ABC Music & Me, Grade schoolers, Imagine That, Kindermusik, Play and fun, Preschoolers
