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This blog was written by Claire Thoma Emmons, the Research and Evaluation Associate at The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis. Claire is a data nerd who studies play both professionally and as a new parent.
Pediatricians writing prescriptions for play?
It may sound silly, but that’s exactly what a new report from the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians do for children! "Play is fundamentally important for learning 21st century skills, such as problem solving, collaboration, and creativity, which require the executive functioning skills that are critical for adult success."
Counter to what many parents are led to believe, long-term research studies show that children who engaged in MORE free play during their preschool years actually performed BETTER in school when they were older than children who had been in more content-driven programs. This is due to the fact that play develops the foundational skills that allow children to...
- listen to directions,
- focus on tasks,
- and learn content later on.
Despite the importance of play, children have less time to play than ever before. "From 1981 to 1997, children's playtime decreased by 25%, which means children have lost 12 hours per week of free time." Now those prescriptions for play don’t sound so silly!
But why does play help?
The report explains that "play is not just about having fun, but about taking risks, experimenting, and testing boundaries."
Brain-building play can happen anywhere, from homes to parks to... children’s museums! What a children’s museum can offer is “a setting that an adult carefully construct[ed] with a learning goal in mind” while still allowing children the freedom to direct their play within an educational environment. You may not know it (because you're having SO MUCH FUN!), but every experience at The Children's Museum is designed to foster children and adults playing—and therefore learning—together.
Here are some examples...
- Fieldtrippers pretending to repair the International Space Station in Beyond Spaceship Earth are also practicing fine motor skills;
- A young visitor working to put together a life-size terra cotta warrior in Treasures of the Earth with their adult is developing spatial and communication skills;
- A preschooler who visits Playscape several times and receives encouragement from an adult eventually develops the confidence to reach the very top of the climber.
- Siblings playing basketball in the Riley Children’s Health Sports Legends Experience® are also working on their hand-eye coordination and teamwork.
The report states that “outdoor play provides the opportunity to improve sensory integration skills; these activities address motor, cognitive, social, and linguistic domains.” The opening of the sports experience has many new opportunities for outdoor play for our visiting families that we're so excited to watch develop.
Day-to-day play
Next time you find yourself wondering how to help your child improve their problem solving skills, creativity, social skills, and ability to handle stress, remember that all of those skills (and more) are supported through free play—especially with the friends and adults in their lives!
Encourage your child to play pretend, play outside, play with siblings and friends, and play with you. Next time you visit The Children's Museum, observe your child and see if you can guess what skills they might be developing. Then remember to jump in and play too—put on a costume; pull a stool up to the sand table; grab a racquet, ball, club, or stick, and play that sport alongside your child! What a relief to know that learning can be so fun!
Read the Full Report, or a Summary.
Yogman M, Garner A, Hutchinson J, et al; AAP COMMITTEE ON PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF CHILD AND FAMILY HEALTH, AAP COUNCIL ON COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA. The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children. Pediatrics. 2018;142(3):e20182058
