Kids who don’t play grow up lacking life and social skills

Free play is a vital part of a child’s development, and children of future generations could enter adulthood lacking vital life and social skills because of a lack of it.

That’s according to a new study by Persil, whose Every Child Has The Right campaign has recently launched.

A staggering 85% of British mums are concerned that children are growing up too quickly, and 64% believe children are being deprived of childhood through the lack of free play.

Free play helps the following areas of children’s development:

• Boosts their imagination and creativity
• Improves language and expression
• Helps them stay active and prevents obesity
• Reduces stress
• Helps raise self-confidence
• Increases emotional development and social skills for later on in life

Ideally, parents should make time each day for at least one hour of active play, outdoors if possible.

Children need little structure or encouragement, because they are naturally active. They just need the time, permission, and the right space.

The Free Play Initiative focuses on five areas within play that can help a child’s development: Play, Explore, Create, Imagine and Experiment.

More information is available at www.persil.com.

The Importance of Play

A study published in the British Medical Journal is reporting that play (psychosocial stimulation) in early childhood significantly helps emotional development in children with stunted growth.

“Researchers found that those who had received the stimulation of play as young children reported significantly less anxiety and depression and higher self-esteem. Their parents also reported that the children had fewer attention problems.”

The researchers concluded that the next challenge is to take this information to develop interventions that can help meet the needs of developmentally-challenged kids. I think it’s interesting in terms of all children.

Maybe next time you’re stuck on the floor playing another round of teddy bear tea party/fight club with your little one, it won’t feel so much like the fifth circle of the inferno but an important part of emotional development…even more important than we realized.

Read the entire article, “Early Play Helps Stunted Children.”