It’s back to school time! Many parents are probably breathing a small sigh of relief. Trying to think up ways to entertain your kids with creative play for nearly three months is never as easy by August as it is in June.
Now that your kids are about to head back to the classroom, it’s probably tempting to try and get them involved in lots of activities to keep them busy throughout the school year. However, this is actually one of the things experts in the field of Creative Play warn against the most!
Devour movie full David Elkind, in his book The Power of Play, writes that “Over the past two decades, children have lost twelve hours of free time a week, including eight hours of unstructured play and outdoor activities.”
According to Elkind, this is mainly due to the fairly new phenomenon of over-scheduling and over-structuring our kids’ days (and evenings!). The trend is becoming more and more common, even at pre-school ages, as parents’ concern over their children’s intellectual development starts to trickle down to younger and younger kids.
Just remember, it doesn’t have to be that way. Allowing your children open-ended “free” time gives them the chance to develop life-long skills, including problem solving and critical thinking, and encourages their innate curiosity and ability to learn without the pressure of a tightly scheduled and managed day. And with all the research available on the benefits of creative play, you don’t have to feel guilty about allowing that unstructured time. Just let them play, and you’ll soon see the benefits with your own eyes.