Diane Oakland, IBCLC Family Education and Support Coordinator, Lactation Consultant

March 19, 2009

Unstructured play is not a luxury; it is essential to child development, experts agree. Yet in today’s harried, hurried, overscheduled world, children have less free time than ever, and that has consequences.

Children need to play out relationships and fantasies; that it is how they learn about themselves, says T. Berry Brazelton, the preeminent childhood specialist at Harvard University, in his book, The Irreducible Needs of Children: What Every Child Must Have to Learn, Grow and Flourish.

Play contributes to the cognitive, physical, societal and emotional wellbeing of children and youth, and provides an opportunity for parents to engage with their children, says the American Academy of Pediatrics in a 2007 clinical report. Unstructured play provides children the opportunity to develop their imaginations, grow in self-esteem and practice problem-solving skills, writes David Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts University and author of The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children.

Yet, the time for child-directed play has markedly declined due to societal trends, including a rise in single-head households and two-working-parent households, technological toys like video and computer games, more structured activities and the pressures on our children to succeed academically. Concerns about safety have also limited opportunities for free play.

To counter the loss of free play, experts suggest that parents:

• Provide young children with “true toys” like blocks and dolls
• Make time for downtime for you and your child
• Keep infants and toddlers away from computer, video and TV screens
• Play with your children