Children Playing – How It Helps In Healthy Growth

Many children return from an afternoon’s play looking exhausted and feeling ready for a nap. For kids, play is very hard work. Play for children is more than just play. It’s a way to grow physically, socially, and emotionally and helps them become responsible productive adults.

Busy parents, with their jobs and adult responsibilities, may be tempted to set their kids about homework and household chores rather than sending them outside to play or giving them a book or art supplies. But parents need to remember how important play can be in making their children ready to eventually enter the adult world as mature, happy participants.

Zoologists and anthropologists recognize the importance of play to the young of most mammal species. Play is essential to healthy development, both physically and socially. The most healthy, well-adjusted adults are people who played as children, both alone and with others.

In addition to helping us develop sharp motor skills and strong, healthy bones and muscles, play helps us develop as members of a larger community. Participating in organized sports, playing organized games, and being part of a close-knit team makes us more human and teaches us how to relate to other humans throughout our lives. In the modern world of business, play is essential to learn the skills necessary to succeed professionally.

What do we learn while we play?

• how to interpret body language
• how to cope with conflict
• how to enjoy nature
• how to communicate our ideas to others
• how to use our imagination to find practical solutions
• how to enjoy simple activities and other people
• how to share and cooperate
• how to value the contributions of others
• how to be a productive member of a productive team

Play is also important to self-discovery. In addition to building a physically healthy body, play helps us learn what our strengths and limitations are. It helps us learn to control human-animal instincts like aggression, anger, and violence. Through play, we learn our society’s customs and language and become a part of our culture. In play, we learn to imagine and innovate to reach our goals and solve our problems. Play helps to teach us how to understand the messages our body sends to our brains. Throwing a ball at a target, responding to a signal, and communicating through facial expressions are subtle ways to communicate. As we play, we learn how to interpret and communicate those subtle messages. Through play, we learn about nature and the environment.

The benefits of play continue to repay us throughout our lives. Our bodies are stronger, and we live a better quality of life because we developed strong bones and muscles. Our minds are sharper, and our social skills are better because we learned how to work (through play) with others for positive results. We are more well-rounded emotionally and psychologically because we learned to identify our own needs and the needs of others, negotiate, and resolve conflicts. Finally, we learned to deal with stress through physical activity and exercise.
So, next time you see a full trash basket or taller grass than you would like, pause for a moment before you pull Sally or Sam away from her/his game. Remember that play is a critical part of learning how to live in the world. They’ll get their chores done, but make play an important priority in your household.

Tagged as: Body language, Facial expression, Health, Kids and Teens, Learning, Motor skill, Physical exercise, Quality of life, Social skills, sport