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MarinaVanessa 12:27 PM 03-23-2014
Here is an absolutely wonderful article (although very long) about the importance of play written by the American Academy of Pediatrics. I know many of us are looking out for information to give to parents about how important play is especially in early childhood and I thought this was an excellent article to take quotes from and it's a credible source.

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

here's the excerpt that I liked ...
Originally Posted by :
"The Benefits of Play

Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development.4–6 It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers.7–14 As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges.7,10,15 Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.7,10,11,16 When play is allowed to be child driven, children practice decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue.7,10,11 Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills.17 In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity epidemic.18,19 Perhaps above all, play is a simple joy that is a cherished part of childhood.

Children’s developmental trajectory is critically mediated by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play.4 When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their child’s vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. (The word “parent” is used in this report to represent the wide range of adult caregivers who raise children.) The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships.6,13,14,20,21 Parents who have the opportunity to glimpse into their children’s world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer gentle, nurturing guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, experiences, and even frustrations through play, allowing their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children.

Play is integral to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to enhance children’s learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving skills.22–32 Social-emotional learning is best integrated with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children’s ability to learn are elevated at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning.

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CraftyMom 01:07 PM 03-23-2014

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TwinKristi 01:11 PM 03-23-2014
Love it!! I bookmarked this to go back when I have free time and use the info! Thanks!!
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llpa 07:14 PM 03-23-2014
Thank you for sharing this! Great info for us to share with parents and other providers!
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MarinaVanessa 07:13 AM 03-24-2014
I know, I loved the article ... well the excerpts that I can get from it because the article itself is SUPER long! But I'm glad I found it. I found it by accident and by far this has to be the best resource I have found written by a credible organization of doctors.

The next part after the part I quoted above talks about the repercussions of less child driven play and a little after that it talks about why it's a problem.

So far that's as far as I have gotten but it's a good read.
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choirlady76 06:33 PM 03-24-2014
Originally Posted by MV:
Here is an absolutely wonderful article (although very long) about the importance of play written by the American Academy of Pediatrics. I know many of us are looking out for information to give to parents about how important play is especially in early childhood and I thought this was an excellent article to take quotes from and it's a credible source.

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

here's the excerpt that I liked ...

Awesome! Thanks so much, in going to put this up on my parents board in my classroom! Play is so vitally important!!
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Movingforward 08:24 PM 05-20-2015
Thanks for sharing! It is hard to translate play based learning to parents so this will definitely help
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DaveA 05:04 AM 05-21-2015
Originally Posted by Movingforward:
Thanks for sharing! It is hard to translate play based learning to parents so this will definitely help
I think many parents get it to a point, but it is a challenge to explain. Especially when facebook or such always seems to have a "supermom" showing the solar system their 3 week old made out of paperclips and golf balls.

It is a great article to show to parents. Thanks for posting it.
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childcaremom 05:19 AM 05-21-2015
Thanks for posting this. Will read more at naptime.
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Meeko 07:53 AM 05-21-2015
I give every parent a copy of the "Play is FUNdemental" brochure. You can get them from the NAEYC web site.
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AmyKidsCo 01:14 PM 05-21-2015
Originally Posted by DaveArmour:
I think many parents get it to a point, but it is a challenge to explain. Especially when facebook or such always seems to have a "supermom" showing the solar system their 3 week old made out of paperclips and golf balls.

It is a great article to show to parents. Thanks for posting it.


IME parents think they get it, but when push comes to shove they go for the academic because they're afraid of their child falling "behind."

Somewhere I heard the quote "Parents want their children to 'win' at childhood" - I love that because I think it hits the nail right on the head.
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