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I think that the traditional view has been that classroom teaching is extremely important
to help children get a better education go to university, get a better job, buy a house
and no-one is denying the importance of a standard education, but I think that part
of that model, involves the idea that playing isn't important.
And that it's only a rest from the important stuff which happens in the classroom.
But today, cutting edge neuropsychology is revealing the vital role of play in child
development. Executive functions is a broad term for quite
a few different skills and abilities, such as being flexible, making decisions, planning,
being creative, being autonomous. I would say that play is actually vital for
the development of these higher level skills. So play should not be seen as a bad thing
it's actually going to promote these essential skills.
And it's also particular types of play the child needs to play with other children so
play shouldn't be something that is taught, so it shouldn't be another activity that you
get right, it should be fun and children need to try things out and it's that experimentation
that is going to allow them to test their limits learn things, get things wrong, try
them again, become creative, become adaptive and that's allowing these skills to develop
further. So to thrive, children need time and space
to play without any grown ups getting in their way.
I think this idea of play being vital is quite a revolution and a very useful way to think
about this is that when a parent sees their child coming in from an hour out.
Playing with other children in the neighbourhood that that's not a bad thing.
What that's done is given them physical exercise and also exercised their executive functions
and therefore in terms of giving your child a good headstart for the future, and allowing
that child to be happy, I think letting the child go out and play and maybe getting a
bit dirty is actually a very good thing.