A Wild Ride: Our Blog

In his new book The Power of Play: How Spontaneous Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children, author David Elkin, child psychologist and Professor of Child Development at Tufts University, writes “We are seeing too many stressed-out kids cutting themselves, committing suicide, anorexic. All of those are symptoms of stress.” He goes on to blame this phenomenon on the lack of playtime.

In an article titled Playtime Packs It In, published Friday, November 2 in the Seattle P-I, reporter Paul Nyhan found other experts who also believe that overscheduled children suffer from a lack of downtime. Nyhan’s article quotes Dr. Jeffrey Kaiser, a child psychologist at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital and Medical Center: “Kids are feeling overwhelmed. I see a lot of depressed and anxious kids.

The American Academy of Pediatrics feels much the same way, issuing a plea to parents to protect “playtime.” In their Caution! Children at Play!, the AAP recognizes that “kids learn as they play. As they practice making decisions, play with imagination, and take active leadership, they also grow in confidence and resilience.” They also quote Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia: “Each child deserves enrichment activities, time to deeply connect with family, and free, unscheduled time to master his or her environment. “ Dr. Ginsburg goes on to stress the role of “play in promoting healthy child development and building strong parent-child bonds.”

But what parent doesn’t want to give her child every advantage that she never had? Chinese lessons (after all China may be the next Superpower), math tutoring (for calculating interest on student loans while attending Ivy League schools), multiple sports practices (soccer scholarship, basketball scholarship, football? You choose.)

A friend’s five-year-old daughter currently reads at a third-grade level and is constantly purchased new books to read each day (what happened to browsing the library?). She also takes German (her father insists on speaking only German at the dinner table). Of course there’s also ballet AND soccer (no stereotypes for this little girl). And music lessons. She loves to sing but Mom says she can choose between piano and violin.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with any of these activities, but considering she attends a full-day kindergarten, when does she have time to play or even stare into space?

According to Nyhan’s article, “not everyone agrees that there is a problem.” He mentions that “Business leaders are ‘telling us the young people they are hiring now are not as creative…and don’t have the same social skills’” as previous generations.

Hmm. That makes me think that when these children do have some down time, they spend it in front of a video screen. Ah! A topic for another time.

Nyhan’s article offers these tips from Linda Young, Seattle University staff psychologist:

• Set priorities and protect unscheduled family time each week.
• During family time, let everyone’s imagination have free reign.
• Think back to what you did for fun before technology and hyper-scheduling.

Personally, I believe these strategies are even more important for parents and children with challenges. (More on that tomorrow.)

For more of Linda's tips and the complete article, clickhere.