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The Power
of Play
by Steven Rudolph
May 18, 2009
I recently received an email from a father who was concerned
about his son’s performance in school. The boy, a 5th
class student, had begun slipping in his studies—a bit of
carelessness in Maths and some language mistakes in English.
The problem was nothing disastrous, but still, in an effort
to help his son perform better, the father made attempts to
increase his study and practice time. When this seemed to
make matters even worse, he contacted me for advice.
My suggestion startled him. Rather than telling him to pile
on more work, I recommended he increase his son’s amount of
playtime. “What? More play? How is that possible? Isn’t that
like adding fuel to fire?” he inquired. I then went on to
help him understand the value of play in our
lives—especially for children, and how by keeping a balanced
amount of play in his son’s diet, he would help him
improve his performance and well-being in general.
Play is Fundamental
According to Dr. Stuart Brown (founder of the
National Institute for Play), play is fundamental to all
intelligent life forms—not just to people, but to animals as
well. Brown has spent over 35 years studying the topic and
has come to the conclusion that play is a natural
phenomenon, one that is as basic as the need for food and
sleep. In the earliest years of life while the brain is in
its most rapid phases of development, children naturally
engage in all sorts of play—jumping and running about,
playing with objects, playing “make believe” and so on.
Brown believes that such exploration and romping about is
not superfluous or disconnected to the learning process, but
rather, is the basis of cognitive development.
Biological Perspective
From a biological perspective, physical play
stimulates the cerebellum, a part of the brain that is
responsible for movement. However, it is now believed that
the cerebellum actively stimulates other centres of the
brain including those that are responsible for language
development. Playful activity also releases endorphins into
the bloodstream, which reduces stress and enables the brain
to function more effectively. By putting more and more
pressure on children, adults are often unwittingly pushing
their children into over-stressed states that in fact
hinder learning.
Attitudinal Angle
From an attitudinal angle, it is important for us
to consider the curious and spontaneous nature that
accompanies play, which has a critical role in children’s
learning processes. When kids approach topics with a playful
attitude, they keep their minds open to exploring ideas for
longer periods of time and from multiple angles. This
enhances their understanding of concepts and aids in the
process of storage and retrieval. When children fail to see
learning as an enjoyable process, the midbrain—the gateway
to long-term memory—begins to turn off and tune out,
limiting the amount of information that it feels worth
encoding in the cerebral cortex. A playful attitude keeps
the midbrain turned on, vastly increasing the amount of
information it can imprint as well as the length of time
that information will remain in memory.
Balancing Play and Work
 All this does not mean that children should be
left to play all day unattended and that parents need not
put any pressure on them to study. Far from it—my point is
that there needs to be a balance of play in kids’ lives.
After an entire day at school, they should not be ushered
off to tuition classes where they engage in even more boring
rote memorisation. Neither should they be permitted to veg
out and watch television for hours on end. My advice is that
you ensure your kids have a variety of play activities that
require them to be physically active, for example, through
sports or dance. You must also encourage them to engage all
of their intelligences by playing musical instruments, doing
word puzzles, colouring, painting, making crafts, building
things with their hands, writing poems and songs, playing
chess, reading storybooks and so on.
When you help your kids make their schedules, don’t think
that these activities are a waste of time or are detracting
from their studies. Look at play as a necessary, mandatory
part of their daily schedule (in the same way that dairy
products are an essential part of a well-balanced diet).
This is true for learners of all ages—even adult learners!
The basic rule is this: learning requires the brain to be
flexible and creative. Play is a way in which we flex the
mind’s creative muscles. So by ensuring kids play, we
increase their capacity to learn.
What Can Parents Do
As a parent, there are a few things you can do to
create environments that actively promote play. One is to
give your kids better access to books, toys, games and other
objects that will stimulate their minds. You’ll need to
spend some time adding some new paraphernalia to the family
room. However, it need not be expensive (as Brown points
out, sometimes children enjoy playing less with new toys and
more with the boxes they came in!). And second, you need to
be a good play role model. That is, I am asking more of you
than to just turn your back and let your kids play for an
hour or two more per day. I’m asking you to get engaged in
their play lives—to understand and help develop their “play
personalities”. In doing so, you may find yourself venturing
into unfamiliar waters—but that is exactly what is required.
By demonstrating what it means to be creative and
spontaneous, they will be more likely to maintain an
attitude of exploration—one that will not only lead to
higher levels of academic learning, but that will develop a
complete foundation of their being—social, emotional and
beyond.
To learn more about the power of play in children’s lives,
keep a lookout for Steve’s forthcoming book The 10 Laws
of Learning to be published by Random House in September
2009.
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