I recently came across a great blog post about the value of creative play featuring an interview with Susan Linn, Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood. Linn is also the author of The Case for Make Believe: Saving Play in a Commercialized World, which focuses on the notable shift in the way our children play in today’s world. This book explores how we’ve gone from encouraging imaginative play and engagement in make believe to giving games, toys, and DVDs that lead children into defined role learning and stifling their growth and development.
This post begins with a description of a simple technique Linn used at a workshop dedicated to creative play. Linn presented several puppets and asked each attendee to describe specific attributes about each character. The first puppet introduced was an ordinary sock puppet and the final character introduced was Cookie Monster, a beloved character from Sesame Street. The variety of the responses received for the ordinary sock puppet and the limited responses received for Cookie Monster easily proved Linn’s point; we need to give kids open-ended opportunities to play, rather than force certain associations onto them.
In this interview, Linn responds to basic questions that many parents may have asked about before but not received the answers. Questions like, why is television really so “bad” for kids? How could a few minutes here and there actually negatively affect their development? She also gives her opinion on the “Mozart Effect,” the theory that classical music can enhance children’s intelligence, and why she believes it is essentially false. She does however recognize that music is an important part of childhood development.
Linn’s answers are easy to understand, based on research and her own field experiences, and she exhibits true empathy towards parents. The information presented in this post is a valuable reference for parents and caregivers who believe in the power of creative play.