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Discover Pediatric Collections on COVID-19 and Racism and Its Effects on Pediatric Health

American Academy of Pediatrics

revised

  • e20182058
FROM THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS

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

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, ; and the Committee on Communications and ; and the Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health
Pediatrics January 2007, 119 (1) 182-191; DOI: https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697
Kenneth R. Ginsburg
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  • Play Beyond the Kids
    Ted G Borkan, PhD
    Published on: 17 July 2007
  • Published on: (17 July 2007)
    Play Beyond the Kids
    • Ted G Borkan, PhD, Psychologist

    As a clinician specializing in working with children and an advocate/practitioner of Play Therapy, I must applaud the alert this article provides about the risks of the lost learning opportunities and the “unintended message from this hurried, intense preparation for adulthood” of our increasingly less ‘playful’ society. Research has for many years recognized the cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral benefits of...

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    As a clinician specializing in working with children and an advocate/practitioner of Play Therapy, I must applaud the alert this article provides about the risks of the lost learning opportunities and the “unintended message from this hurried, intense preparation for adulthood” of our increasingly less ‘playful’ society. Research has for many years recognized the cognitive, emotional, social, and behavioral benefits of providing children with unstructured, child-centered play time; HOWEVER, as important as play is for children, it is (at least) nearly equally important for adults. Popular phrases are popular because of their resonance of truth and what is it we do when we are struggling with the challenges of life? What is the process we engage in to reach a resolution? We “play with an idea”!! Most adults do so in their thoughts alone whereas others also interact with their environment as part of this process. I suggest that this devaluation and denial of play’s importance to adult health is a second major contributant to the general devaluation by our society of the power and importance of play. I would contend that play is, even for adults, the foundation of contentment and achievement. We need to advocate for adults, just as for children, to engage the world with that ‘playfulness’ that allows us to see the many possibilities and options each of our life experiences exposes. We need to remember what these people knew:

    G.B. Shaw: “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing”

    R. von Oech: “Necessity may be the mother of invention, but play is certainly the father.”

    G.K. Chesterson:“The true object of all human life is play.”

    Respectfully submitted: T.G. Borkan, PhD-Psychologist

    Conflict of Interest:

    None declared

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    Competing Interests: None declared.
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Pediatrics
Vol. 119, Issue 1
January 2007
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The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
Kenneth R. Ginsburg
Pediatrics Jan 2007, 119 (1) 182-191; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-2697

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The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
Kenneth R. Ginsburg
Pediatrics Jan 2007, 119 (1) 182-191; DOI: 10.1542/peds.2006-2697
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  • Table of Contents

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  • Article
    • Abstract
    • INTRODUCTION
    • THE BENEFITS OF PLAY
    • REDUCED CHILD-DRIVEN PLAY AND THE POTENTIAL REPERCUSSIONS
    • FACTORS THAT HAVE CHANGED THE ROUTINE OF CHILDHOOD
    • WHY IS IT A PROBLEM?
    • FAMILY CONSIDERATIONS
    • WHAT ARE THE SOLUTIONS?
    • ADVICE FOR PEDIATRICIANS*
    • CONCLUSIONS
    • Committee on Communications, 2006–2007
    • Liaisons
    • Staff
    • Committee on Psychosocial Aspects of Child and Family Health, 2006–2007
    • Liaisons
    • Consultants
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    • Footnotes
    • REFERENCES
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