All Children Play

Recently, I was riding home from a beautiful bike ride in the Oregon farmlands. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and all was right with the world. Riding my last climb up the ridge toward home, I noticed many children playing at the end of the street. Seeing many children out in the middle of the day playing was beautiful. The children were loud and busy having fun riding their bikes. They were running and drawing with sidewalk chalk all over the street. 

Many children live in my neighborhood. I notice them waiting for the school bus in the mornings as I leave the house. What I do not encounter are many children outside playing. 

What happened to play, and where did it go?

In our day, play personified all children did when not in school. As children, we lived outside playing until it was time to come home. In the book Play by Stuart Brown M.D., he talks about the same experience I had as a child. "It used to be that self-organized play was all we did. Most adults over the age of forty-five will likely have memories of exploring on their own, through puddles and fields, or on city streets. The only direction they got from their parents was to be home for dinner or before dark." That was my life when I got out of school. I checked in with my parents and then hit the streets with my bike and my friends. 

The children in my neighborhood played sports, biked, rode skateboards, played hide and seek, kick the can, and over the line. We chased butterflies, played in the mud, climbed trees, and rolled in the grass. We created our play experiences on the spot and rolled with the punches. Unfortunately, I encounter little of this type of play anymore, which is a concern. Today, many children live busy lives with extracurricular activities, homework, and computers taking up all their time after school.

Are children missing meaningful developmental opportunities because of a lack of free play?

The benefits of self-organized play are tremendous. We learned social skills during my play experiences, who possessed excellent skills, and who to learn new skills from. We strengthened our bodies with hours and hours of exercise. We learned how to share while building friendships. We helped each other and looked out for each other. Self-organized play embodied our world. It was separate from the adult world and governed by our own rules.

I have great memories of free play as a child, so I studied recreation and child development in college. Also, my play experiences and love of play are why I work with school-age children today. I want children to experience the same play opportunities. Self-organized child-directed play benefits children. I am encouraged by the current movement to get children out into nature and bring back recess. I hope these movements are successful. Then children can return to the outdoors, parks, and playgrounds and experience play—a positive direction toward fresh air, sunshine, better health, and human development. 

How do the children in your program spend their free time?