I have spent much of the past five years fighting to make play a valued part of children's lives. I was so excited to see this movement featured in the NYTimes yesterday. So many people see this a "duh!" moment, but I want to challenge those people to see the detriment to childhood. This could be because technology is so common or worry of academic standards or fear or a variety of other reasons, but it is a present challenge to childhood today.
Fewer of us live in neighborhoods where children roam and play freely. Educators are finding children arriving in school with little problem solving skills, social skills or even knowledge of (non-video) games.These should be a concern to us--even to those of us with children who have these privileges. Why? Take note of the Newsweek's The Creativity Crisis, that Harvard staff are saying "Want to get your kids in college? Let them play" and employers are finding it increasingly hard to young people with the ability to think outside the box. See that recess is being reduce or eliminated in Providence, Atlanta and other communities. Childhood Obesity is at an all time high.
There are so many working to restore the culture of play. I hope others will step up and support this movement so that we can see true change in our schools and our neighborhoods.
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