Why Playing Games Are Important for Child Development

For thousands of years, play has been a childhood tradition. Unregulated and unstructured, it has passed from generation to generation. Even during periods of immense challenge, such as the Great Depression and World War II Nazi Germany, children found ways to be playful, writes psychologist and researcher Joe L. Frost in “A History of Children’s Play and Play Environments.” But he warns that in the face of too many structured activities, loss of outdoor areas, excessive screen time, and increased academic pressure, this age-old tradition is fading.

“Now, for the first time in history,” he writes, “the children of entire industrialized nations, especially American children, are losing their natural outdoor grounds for play and forgetting how to engage in free, spontaneous … play. The consequences are profound.”

THE BENEFITS OF PLAY

"Play is something done for its own sake," says psychiatrist Stuart Brown, author of “Play,” He writes: “It’s voluntary, it’s pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, it takes you out of time. And the act itself is more important than the outcome.”

With this definition in mind, it’s easy to recognize play’s potential benefits. Play nurtures relationships with oneself and others. It relieves stress and increases happiness. It builds feelings of empathy, creativity, and collaboration. It supports the growth of sturdiness and grit. When children are deprived of opportunities for play, their development can be significantly impaired. 

Play is so important that NAEYC has called it a central component in developmentally appropriate practice, and the United Nations High Commission on Human Rights declared it a fundamental right of every child.  Play is not frivolous. It is not something to do after the “real work” is done. Play is the real work of childhood. Through it, children have their best chance for becoming whole, happy adults.

WHAT CHILDREN LEARN THROUGH PLAY 

We believe that play is the primary vehicle for optimal growth in childhood. Below are just some of the ways children learn through play: 

• When children play, they are developing skills in all areas of development: cognitive, physical, communication, and social/emotional. They practice and reinforce these skills in a way that can’t be achieved through worksheets or screen time.
• Play promotes healthy habits by actively engaging children in the world around them. This counteracts issues many children face today, such as childhood obesity.
• Play is a natural stress  reliever, and an outlet that allows children to work through their anxiety and fears.
• Play allows children to test out new ideas and make connections between their previous experiences and their active investigations.
• Children make their own decisions during play; they begin to make connections between their choices and the natural consequences of those choices.
• Play supports the development of self-control which is critical for success later in life. Children play because they have a deep desire to understand the world. Play allows opportunities for them to regulate their feelings, delay gratification, and negotiate with others, all important aspects of developing self-control, a 21st century skill.
• The spontaneity of play promotes risk-taking as children interact with materials and their environment. The sense of the unknown helps children develop mental flexibility and executive function.
• Play helps children develop mindfulness as well as feel safe and secure to try new ideas and experiment. As children become engrossed in play, they suspend awareness of time and space, becoming fully present in the task at hand.