Taking Play Seriously

Taking Play Seriously. So far, no fewer than seven of my friends wrote me about this article in yesterday's New York Times (I have some very good friends). It concludes: "Animal findings about how play influences brain growth suggest that playing, though it might look silly and purposeless, warrants a place in every child’s day. Not too overblown a place, not too sanctimonious a place, but a place that embraces all styles of play and that recognizes play as every bit as essential to healthful neurological development as test-taking drills, Spanish lessons or Suzuki violin."

This conclusion was my favorite part of a lengthy (12 page) article that explores many theories of play - the majority based on studies of animal play, some on brain studies, and the rest on play scholarship. But it was the conclusion I liked best. Maybe because, over the many years of my own personal explorations of play, I've become familiar with most of these studies; maybe also because I've come to believe that we can be of greater service, not by trying to understand play, but by having more faith in our children's love for it, more appreciation for our own moments of pointeless exuberance, more respect for the fundamental glee that comes from being alive.


from Bernie DeKoven, funsmith