Tuesday Night’s session with Dr. David Elkind was incredible.I learned a lot from reading his book, The Power of Play, but learned even more from our discussion on Tuesday.
I have a much better understanding of the importance of play in a child’s social and educational development now, and I am truly thankful that my daughter attends an elementary school that has not eliminated recess in favor of more curriculum.
Left to their own resources kids are free to use their imagination and creativity to create characters, new games and build relationships.They figure things out on their own.They make their own choices.They explore and they learn.Unstructured free time is essential to learning.Kids were learning on their own long before we gave them electronic games and started marketing “educational” products to them and their parents.
When it comes to giving our kids toys, he encourages us not to give children too many toys, too often (which is sometimes difficult to do when we’re bombarded with toys everywhere—including on our necessary trips to the grocery store).Make sure the toys you buy encourage imaginative inspiration, not momentary amusement or distraction.We’ve probably all noticed it: when kids have too many toys they are overwhelmed and move from one toy to another without spending time on any of them.When the question came up about boys playing with guns, Dr.Elkind advised parents to let the kids create their own guns and weapons.Boys are going to play cops and robbers and violent games sometimes, but let them use their own creativity to come up with the weapons they use.
He cautioned against organized sports for kids under seven, pointing out that giving kids an early start in a particular sport doesn’t necessarily give them an edge in that sport as they get older and it sometimes just leads to burn-out.Kids get enough exercise on their own when let loose outside to play with other kids their age.
He also acknowledged that things have changed since he was a little boy and that there are legitimate concerns parents have with letting their kids loose outside, but he pointed out that those concerns are more about traffic and number of cars—fast cars, on the street now—not any increased threat of child abductions.He suggested playing at parks or other areas to let kids just be kids with others their age.
Much of what Dr. Elkind says goes right along with what Lenore Skenazy points out in her book Free Range Kids.I’m thrilled to be interviewing her next Tuesday night and hearing from “America’s Worst Mom”.She, too, encourages us to trust our kids to be kids, don’t give in to the pressure to manage their every moment, and stop letting the media (and your neighbors) convince you that your child will be abducted if you let him out of your site for more than 30 seconds.This is sure to be a lively discussion so please join our community and participate.
Tuesday Night’s session with Dr. David Elkind was incredible.
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