There are a couple of quotes that sum up what childhood
play represents for me.
“Play is the work of the child.” - Maria Montessori
“Play is the only
way the highest intelligence of humankind can unfold.” - Joseph Chilton Pearce
“Children need the
freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.” - Kay
Redfield Jamison
As a child, I enjoyed playing with my brother and sister a lot, we did a lot of painting and art work; we also spent a lot of time outside riding bicycles in the playground. My mother always encouraged us to find ways to play together by making up our own games. My parents introduced us to many activities like sports, playing musical instruments, and arts; they let us decide which one we preferred and encouraged us to explore that activity further. They would also spend a lot of time with us to guide us through our play.
During my childhood, my siblings and I were not allowed to watch TV for too long, instead we were encouraged
to spend time playing outside. This allowed us to make friends and engage in
physical activities. I feel that
children today prefer playing video games or watch TV rather than spend time
running or riding bicycles outside. It makes me sad to see children who spend all day
watching TV because their parents are too busy to spend some play time with
them.
Play is
a way for children to develop social skills, and also to have healthy physical
and cognitive development. It teaches children to be creative and broadens
their imagination. Children need to run
and play to explore their abilities. I believe that children need to be happy
to have a healthy development.
I enjoyed your blog. The quotes you picked were great choices and I do agree that play for a child is a necessity. I would have loved to have other brothers and sisters to play as I was growing up I think that is why I enjoy being around kids so much because I missed out on that play time.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your blog post. Many children today are not encouraged to engage in outdoor activities and spend countless hours watching television. Most parents work and it can be difficult to spend time outdoors with their children. If parents dedicate a 15 minutes a day promoting outdoor play children would be much healthier-physically, cognitively, and mentally.
ReplyDeleteHi Ghayna,
ReplyDeleteThe problem for many children today is the crime rate, for this reason, many parents are afraid to allow their children to stay outside unattended for little or no time at all. The need for programs that promote outside play, but not a sport, just play is vitally needed. This is the reason schools should not take away a full length recess time. As Dianna said in her reply, "15 minutes a day would be much healthier in all areas (paraphrased).
Joyce Galloway