Unstructured play key for development

Little League, swimming lessons, day camps and dance classes keep kids hopping while the heat is on. Don’t feel pressured, though, to jam-pack your child’s schedule.

Children also need unstructured playtime, in part to help with their emotional and physical development, says Lea Ann Lowery, a University of Missouri occupational therapist. A lack of unstructured playtime might be why today’s young adults have trouble with problem-solving or critical thinking, she says.

“Play is the vehicle for the development of many major life skills,” says Lowery, a clinical assistant professor of occupational therapy in the UM School of Health Professions. “Children can work on simple, basic social skills such as taking turns, interacting with others and following directions, and fine motor skills such as dressing, cooking and hand-eye coordination during playtime. While some structured play is fine, overly structured play doesn’t encourage critical thinking and problem-solving skills.”

Playtime doesn’t need to be expensive. Most children can develop their imagination skills with stuff around the house, such as empty boxes and plastic bins that become cages for plastic animals or beds for dolls.

Lowery is concerned that children, instead of using their imaginations, are:

Becoming reliant on certain objects, usually electronics, to have fun.

Lacking creativity in games or are unable to find other ways to play with toys.

Needing immediate gratification during activities.

Becoming too dependent on reinforcement.

Becoming bored because they don’t know how to occupy themselves.

“Play isn’t play if there are too many rules, and it’s important to allow children to make messes,” Lowery says.

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia, agrees. She has researched the power of play for several years and says, “Play not only enhances learning but also fosters creative thinking.”

Hirsh-Pasek is involved in two projects in her lab looking at the value of play and how play creates important interactions between parents and children. Children are being robbed of playtime at home and school, she says.

Too much television. Too many computer games. Too much sitting in a car going to and from scheduled activities. These passive options for summer —- unlike open-ended play —- do not enhance intellectual, social, emotional and physical development, according to the Alliance for Childhood at www.alliancefor childhood.org.

Ideas for parents to create a free-play environment at home:

While you’re cleaning the kitchen, eavesdrop on your kids as they play pirate ship in the living room. How do they solve such problems as too many pirates to fit in their pretend ship?

Your child pretends to drive. Extend his play by asking, “Where are you going?” Provide paper and markers for making signs, and a suitcase.

A large empty box could be a cave one day, a post office the next, a boat the next. Don’t barge in and decide. Let your child raid your recycling bin of plastics and paper to add to the fun.

Swap child care responsibilities with other parents so kids can play together without adults spending any money.

Can you help?

Q: I’m taking care of a little girl this summer who is used to snacking throughout the day. I cannot afford to let her do this, and I do not want my children to get into this habit. I don’t know how to approach her mother about the fact she is letting her daughter eat too much. —- A mother in Raleigh

Betsy Flagler, a journalist based in Davidson, N.C., teaches preschool and is the mother of a teenage son. If you have tips or questions, call 704-236-9510 or e-mail p2ptips@att.net.