I’ve always been fascinated with the power of play. The idea of play is always mentioned in psychology, but I never really got a full understanding of the term until now. I associated “play” with hide and seek, tic-tac-toe, or playing with dolls. But what I have now learned is that play is the fuel for an enriching future. 

There are so many important things that happen when a child plays. They experience challenges, they interact with the people around them, they learn about their environment, and most importantly, play is, and should be, self engaging. When I say self engaging I mean that play is initiated by the child's pure willingness to learn. 

In an article written by Timothy D. Walker, I learned more about the ways in which children engage in play in schools and how education can be more beneficial through the art of play. Maarit Reinikka, who is a director of Niirala preschool in Kuopio, Finland explained: “It’s not a natural way for a child to learn when the teacher says, ‘Take this pencil and sit still… The school’s kindergarten educators have their students engage in desk work—like handwriting—just one day a week. Reinikka, who directs several preschools in Kuopio, assured me that kindergartners throughout Finland are rarely sitting down to complete traditional paper-and-pencil exercises” (Walker). 

This made me think more about the effect of presence or lack thereof of play during early childhood. I thought back to my childhood and recalled the stories my mother would tell me about how good I was at playing alone. I had always thought of this story as a sad one. It made me think I had no friends or that I didn't like playing with other children, or that I was starved of proper interaction with people. I thought this explained why I value my alone time now.

However, I realized that when I would play alone, I was really engaged in self activated play. Play had nothing to do with my social battery potential. 

Like mentioned in The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, by Kenneth Ginsberg, it states, “This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play” (Ginsberg, 182). I thought more about my upbringing and the ways in which my kind of play affected me in the long run. I wondered how changing family structure could have an effect on play and therefore, one's future. I wondered if my parents had separated earlier in life, would my development look different in comparison to having my family structure change later in life (at the age of 17). 

When watching the particular film series The Beginning of Life, I drew possible connections to how when family structure changes, child-centered play may decrease which can then lead to future psychological struggles. “Children with high self-esteem are willing to take some risks and chances about learning new things because they can be wrong. So self esteem helps you do new things even if you will not be successful” (Netflix Series, The Beginning of Life). In this case, the act of constant play could be correlated with children having higher self esteem. The more that children participate in play, the more willing they are to experience risk and challenges which allows them to be more adjusted. So therefore, the connection between a differing familial structure and self esteem is related through the presence of play. This theory frames play as being a very important element in a child's development. 

References:

Walker, T. D. (2015, October 1). Kindergarten: While American kids read, their Finnish peers play. The Atlantic. https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/the-joyful-illiterate-kindergartners-of-finland/408325/

Milteer RM;Ginsburg KR; ; (n.d.). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bond: Focus on children in poverty. Pediatrics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22201149/

The Beginning of Life, Netflix, Estela Renner, 2016, Maria Farinha Filmes,