In the News: Let's Play

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Let's Play

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According to researchers and experts who study childhood culture, the art of unstructured play is being lost. Parents are encouraged to teach their children to play by showing them how to organize a makeshift ball game, build a fort in the living room, etc., and then leave them to it.

The overscheduled and micromanaged world of kids' sports and schools that no longer allow recess for fear of injury lawsuits has deprived children of the joy of necessary playtime. Psychologists believe play is essential to children's well-being because, among other things, it helps them develop, on their own, imagination and social skills like sharing and cooperation (Hilary Stout, "Effort to Restore Children's Play Gains Momentum," NYTimes.com, Jan. 5, 2011).