The Work of Children is Play! How Play Boosts Learning, Development, and Physical Health.

Your children build elaborate forts made from sofa cushions, blankets, and dining chairs. Maybe they are hiding out from enemy dragons, or simply pretending to run a tiny household amidst the pillows and flashlights. They play games in the backyard, which you watch from the kitchen window, running in a series of loops and shouting things that make sense only to them, in their secret world of play. It's charming, and it's fun. But play is also crucial to your child's learning and development, as well as his overall health and wellbeing.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), play is essential to the development of children's creativity, imagination, cognitive and emotional strength, and physical dexterity. Play, especially that which involves pretending, creation, and exploration, gives children an opportunity to create their own worlds, with their own sets of rules, their own roles, and their own terrain. Here they can act as leaders, creators, helpers, and negotiators. They can build advanced skills in a safe space, practicing at roles that will allow them to develop new competencies. And working in groups, as in preschool, will teach them invaluable lessons about conflict-resolution and helping behaviors. The AAP also concluded that play is an essential opportunity for kids to exert themselves physically and is a powerful agent in the battle against childhood obesity. In a childcare or academic setting, play helps children adjust to their new setting, and enhances their learning readiness and ability to problem-solve and think creatively.

Numerous studies support the AAP's stance on the importance of play. The journal, Pediatrics,published a 2009 study which suggests that children are better behaved in the classroom when they are allowed to play freely during recess. Researchers studied 8 and 9 year-olds, a subset of whom had more than fifteen minutes of break time in their school day, and another subset of whom had less than fifteen minutes. Teachers evaluated the behavior of the students and concluded that the children who were allowed more time to play were more focused and better behaved during academic portions of the day.

Further, a study published in the Early Childhood Education Journal in 2007 focused on the effect play has on a child's ability to regulate their own emotions and become aware of the emotions of people around them. The study found that free play and play guided by adults, in a daycare setting, has a significant effect on this type of emotional intelligence in children.

 You can encourage your children to play freely by giving them every opportunity to turn off the television and tear themselves away from the tablet or smartphone. Whether it's a snow fort on a frosty day, the playground in the spring, or sandcastles in the summer, initiating play with your kids or taking them out to socialize with neighbors and friends can boost play behavior. Schools and childcare establishments can take equal responsibility for encouraging play, as well. We are all care-takers of our children, and making sure we tend to their development, health, and sense of fun, every day, is our duty.