The Value of Play

Webster's Dictionary defines the verb play as "to engage in a game, to take recreation, amusement, fun, jest." This is the most common way of thinking about play.

The line between work and play is clearly defined for adults. It is not so simple for children, since many activities that adults regard as work can be turned into play by children. For example, a task such as washing dishes can be transformed into play by children who enjoy playing in water, watching bubbles, and so on. For an activity to be regarded as play it must, according to psychologists Hughes, Noppe and Noppe, meet the following five criteria:

1. It must be intrinsically motivating. A child who is playing hockey because he wants to win a trophy is not really playing for pleasure and is therefore not truly playing.
2. Participation in the activity must be freely chosen: if a child is building with blocks because his teacher told him to, he is not truly playing.
3. The child must find the activity fun and derive pleasure from it.
4. There must be a level of pretence: children must be using their imaginations in some manner.
5. The child must be actively engaged in the game: a child who is playing checkers while remaining disinterested in the game is, in essence, not playing.

After considering all these criteria, it becomes obvious that many children's actions do not qualify as play at all but rather, as activities that adults assume children enjoy doing. For example, many children participate in sports because their parents want them to learn how to "play" the chosen sport. Often, the time children spend playing on organized teams does not qualify as real and valid "play time."

Play is generally regarded as something done for enjoyment or pleasure, to unwind or relax. As Ellis points out, play has often been perceived as something "trivial or fruitless" (Kraus, 27). Work is meaningful and purposeful, according to Ellis; play, however, is regarded as something people do in their spare time. In our society, play is not considered to be as vital as work.

Evidence of how our society belittles the value of play can be seen everywhere. As one study points out, parents often criticize early childhood programs as "ineffective learning environments because they have emphasized children's play without articulating the goals for children" (NAEYC, 24). Many educators recognize that the major goal of play is to provide children with experiences. Not every action or form of play needs to be, or should be, goal-oriented. Children should be able to play for play's sake; sadly, few parents seem to recognize this.

In some instances, adults are overly concerned with designing special environments for play and deprive the children of fun and creativity. "In environments which offer the possibility of discovery and inventiveness, children's play sustains itself" (Jones, 15). Many adults in our society are obsessed with organizing their own lives and are now imposing their obsession on their children's lives. Adults do not understand the value of "loose play" (Jones, 15), the type of play where children engage freely in a creative activity such as making a car out of a box. Parents willingly purchase expensive toys and educational games for their children, but many do not see the value of play for play's sake.

When a task is considered easy, we refer to it as "child's play" simply because such play is thought of as simplistic and relatively uncomplicated. However, it is often highly complex and of immense value to child development.

One theorist, Carr, states that play is important to children as it provides them with an opportunity to "express their bottled up opinion" (Kraus, 29). According to his theory, play is a cathartic experience; it allows children the opportunity to express negative emotions which are otherwise unacceptable in their lives. For example, a five-year-old whose mother has just had another child is likely to experience negative feelings, such as resentment and hostility towards his sibling. Play allows a child in this situation to vent his feelings and frustrations, rather than internalizing his emotions or becoming abusive toward his new sibling.

Play can give children a feeling of empowerment in a world that caters to adults. It also allows them a means of expressing strong, negative emotions. According to Freud, play allows children to feel in control of a situation. For example, the child with the new sibling is probably not allowed to hurt the baby; however, he can hit, throw or kick his doll and this allows him to feel in control. Freud maintains that children need to feel they have some control, since it helps them to deal with reality (Kraus, 38).

Another theorist, Patrick, believes that children and adults are often placed in situations that create strong emotional reactions that increase adrenalin flow. Patrick believes that play is valuable because it gives children an outlet for their aggression (Kraus, 29). A child who is frustrated with his teacher or parents is not usually permitted to hit them. He can, however, engage in a game of cops and robbers in which he has to catch other children and wrestle them to the ground. This type of play allows children to vent their aggression in an acceptable manner.

A further reason why play is valuable to children is that it helps prepare them for adult life (Slavin, 419). A child learns basic life skills such as cooperation, negotiation and compromise. A group of children who are building a tower with blocks must listen to each others' ideas, work together and cooperate so as not to knock the tower down. Children also learn how to "play by the rules" through their play interactions. A child who decides (without the consent of his peers) to knock down the block tower that he and his friends have built, would likely enrage his friends by doing so. His friends could then alienate him and insist that he leave. Although an incident such as this may seem trivial, the child has learned a valuable lesson about life: respect the rules or your peers will exclude you.

According to Karl Groos, play allows children time to develop and improve skills which they will need later in life. "Early experiences with symbolism" are often considered the foundation of reading and writing skills (Slavin, 71). For example, when children play with blocks pretending certain blocks are a house, others a garage and so on, they are not "simply building." They are learning that objects can be used to represent other things. A child's ability to engage in successful symbolic play can help him understand how words are used to represent objects.

Yet another reason why play is valuable to children is that it allows them to discover who they are and what they enjoy doing; it provides them with an opportunity to engage in a variety of activities in a noncommittal manner (Slavin, 72). A child playing with dress-up clothes can test out a variety of personas and experience what it might be like to be a doctor or teacher, while at the same time developing social problem-solving skills. For example, children playing dress-up must agree upon roles, thus developing their ability to cooperate. This form of play also helps to develop children's abstract thinking skills. When children play dress-up they are taking on the role of someone else. By doing this, children must try to think and behave in a manner appropriate to their pretend persona. When children engage in imaginative play such as this they have to think very creatively as they do not have any concrete objects to guide them. Such sociodramatic play also helps them to understand others and develop feelings of empathy.

Play allows children to develop their imaginative skills and develop their personalities. According to Mitchell and Mason, play provides children with an important outlet for self- expression (Kraus, 31). For example, a child who has problems expressing his feelings and emotions can do so far more readily through play than discussion. By the same token, children who have been abused often find it far more therapeutic to "play out" the abuse than to discuss it.

According to anthropologist Felix Keesing, play serves a number of different functions in primitive societies. These include: 1) pleasurable or hedonistic effects; 2) relaxing or energy-restorative functions; 3) integrative effects that develop stability and cohesion among both individuals and groups; 4) therapeutic or sublimative functions that channel off conflicts, aggressions and hostilities; 5) creative opportunities for innovation and self-expression; 6) communicative functions that assist learning and habit formation among both children and adults; and 7) symbolic values in expressing cultural values and beliefs" (Kraus, 34). Although Keesing's study discusses the role of play in primitive societies, many of the benefits of play are the same in primitive and modern society.

Through playing, children also develop their problem-solving skills and their creativity (Slavin, 420). For example, if a child is building a car with LEGO and he only has rectangular pieces, he must determine how he will make the wheels. Perhaps he will create a story that the wheels fell off in an accident or maybe the car will be a special car that can fly. He might choose to use another material to create his wheels. This child is developing his ability to analyze and devise solutions to a problem.

The concept of childhood is a cultural invention that has only existed for about 400 years (Slavin, 72). Prior to this, children were regarded as miniature adults and were expected to behave in the same manner as adults. Children as young as six years old were sent to work in factories and their play-time was almost non-existent (Weber, 22).

Now that the notion of childhood is readily accepted, the problem of parents' expectations has arisen. Psychologist David Elkind has done extensive research into what happens to children who are not allowed to play. He maintains that many parents now "overprogram" their children by enroling them in too many activities. Consequently all of their time is programmed and they have no opportunities to play freely. The result, according to Elkind, is that more children are suffering from stress, emotional and mental breakdowns and other conditions that used to be considered adult diseases and conditions:

"Unfortunately the value and meaning of play are poorly understood in our hurried society. What happened to adults in our society has now happened to children. Play has been transformed into work. What was once recreational -- sports, summer camp, musical training -- is now professional and competitive" (Elkind, 55).

There is ample evidence to support the validity of Elkind's statement. The prevalence of programs such as "how to teach your child to read by two years of age"; the waiting lists at "academic preschools"; the way parents behave while watching their children participate in sporting events, such as hockey. These are just a few examples of how parents are forcing their children to compete in everything and not allowing them time to just "play."

In conclusion, play is an extremely important element in the lives of children since it helps them develop and foster life skills, creativity, imagination and a positive self-image. While our society does not fully understand what play is and why it is so essential to children, it is apparent that children who are not given opportunities to engage in "real" play are being deprived of a vital and essential aspect of their childhood. As one looks at the current fashion trend to dress children like adults and the pressures our society places on children, it would appear that opportunities for such play are being reduced.

Although children's play may appear to be fun, silly and a waste of time to an adult, it is of immense value to them, helping determine what kind of adult they will become. The next time you observe a child throwing pebbles into a lake or digging in the sand, do not automatically assume that the child is wasting his or her time. Instead, question what the child may really be getting out of the activity. To help children develop into healthy, creative and well-adjusted adults, our society must recognize the unique qualities of childhood. Children must be allowed the time and opportunity to respond to their environments and to play freely without structure. To deny them this opportunity will create serious consequences for children and society at large.

Fiona Rowlands is an early childhood educator in Quebec who has worked with kindergarten children for several years.

References

National Association for the Education of Young Children. "Guidelines for Appropriate Curriculum Content and Assessment in Programmes Serving Children," Young Children, March, 1991: 21-37.

This article appeared in Interaction (Spring 1997), published by the Canadian Child Care Federation.

Posted by the Canadian Child Care Federation, August 1997.

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