Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Let the Children Play

From Global News:

According to a new survey by toy company Melissa & Doug and analytics organization Gallup, parents aren’t fully appreciating unstructured child-led playtime and would much rather choose structured activities to keep their kids occupied and days filled to the brim.

“Today’s children are experiencing unprecedented levels of pressure, anxiety, and depression – all stemming from a lack of self-confidence, resilience, independence, connection and sense of self,” Melissa Bernstein, co-founder of Melissa & Doug, said in a statement. “We may think we are protecting them from being bored or falling behind, but ultimately we are preventing them from the open-ended experiences that allow them to discover themselves, their passion and their purpose.”

The survey interviewed 1,000 adults over the age of 18 with kids up to 10 years of age in Canada, Australia and the U.K. and asked them what they thought of different types of play children engage in. When it comes to unstructured play, 57 per cent of parents believe the only skill children get out of it is creativity. Only three in 10 believe children develop problem-solving, self-confidence and other skills (art, athletics, etc.). (Read more.)
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1 comment:

julygirl said...

I recall getting together with other children in my neighborhood and playing baseball in the street without any adult supervision or structured Little League imposing itself upon us.