Modern parents are inundated with messages about how to create the next “super baby” — start academics early, get on the waiting list for the prestigious preschool across town, and fill your home with elaborate games and toys. It’s enough to set the calmest parent’s teeth on edge. Relax. What children really need is what they’ve always needed — playful, engaging experiences with loving, nurturing parents and caregivers. Simple, old-fashioned play is still the best way to boost healthy early development. Read on to learn about the many benefits of play-based learning.

• Play builds brain power. You may have heard the term “executive function,” which refers to the skills necessary for learning, such as impulse control, focus, and persistence. Many researchers believe these skills are more important for later academic success than cognitive ability or even academic interventions. How, then, do children develop executive function? According to Dr. Elena Bodrova, an early childhood researcher and co-author of the Tools of the Mind curriculum, play is at the heart of building self-regulation, another name for executive function. Through pretend play, specifically, children try on new roles, learn to take turns, and collaborate with each other.
• Play sparks creativity. Albert Einstein once said, “Creativity is intelligence having fun.” Consider your toddler or baby exploring the pots and pans in your cupboard. Baby first handles a lid or mouths it. She may study her reflection visible in its sheen. Soon, she bangs it on the floor, reveling in the sound and vibration. But that’s not all! What happens, she wonders, with two lids? She quickly discovers that banging two lids together makes an absolutely wonderful sound and gets an exciting reaction from mom or dad. This simple experience is what play’s all about — exploring, problem solving, and creating. During play, children almost always start with a simple concept or activity and build or elaborate upon it.
• Play builds emotional resiliency. Play is a natural stress reliever for both children and adults. Consider, for example, a fussy older baby or toddler. If she’s neither hungry nor tired, what is your next tactic to soothe her? Most likely, you’ll try some form of play, such as singing a simple nursery rhyme, offering a board book, or playing a game of Peek-a-Boo. Play engages the mind and the body. Even very young children use play to self-soothe, relieve stress, and build emotional resilience. And, the emotional benefits of play can last a lifetime. Melinda Wenner, in an article entitled “The Serious Need for Play,” found that disadvantaged children attending a play-based preschool were much happier as adults than those who had attended an instruction-oriented program. By the age of 23, over one-third of students attending the academic preschool had committed a felony. Less than one-tenth of the children who had attended a play-based program had committed a serious crime.
• Play builds motor skills. The first year of life is accompanied by incredible physical development. Your little one moves from complete helplessness to racing up stairs and over furniture in only 12 months. What fuels all this activity? More than anything else, an innate sense of curiosity and a desire for independence. Your little one wants to know what’s behind those kitchen cupboards and what lurks in the bottom of your closet. These playful explorations encourage early motor development.

Play is as necessary for healthy development as clean water, good food and adequate sleep. Since the beginning of time, humans in every culture have played. Most mammals engage in some form of play, too. So, forget flash cards and expensive electronic toys. You are your child’s favorite play thing. Roll up your sleeves, toss off your shoes and get down on the floor for some serious fun — play.

For more information:

Wenner, Melinda (2009). The Serious Need for Play. Scientific American Mind. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from www.melindawenner.com/Clips_files/MiQ109Wenn2p.pdf.

Focus on Self-Regulation. Tools of the Mind. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www.toolsofthemind.org/extendedcampus/toolsofthemind.

Ginsburg, Kenneth R., MD, MSEd., and the Committee on Communications, and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Pediatrics. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182.full.

Lifetime Effects: The HighScope Perry Preschool Study through Age 40. HighScope: Inspiring Educators to Inspire Children. Retrieved March 29, 2013 from http://www.highscope.org/content.asp?contentid=219.

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Playful Bee

Education Team at Playful Bee

Playful Bee is an e-Preschool that delivers inquiry-based preschool learning from the classroom to your home. Our preschool curriculum was created by our talented team of rock star teachers. With years of hands-on preschool and Kindergarten teaching experience, they've developed a high-quality preschool experience that is convenient-to-use and easy-to-teach by you, grandparents, or your nanny at home.

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