The joy of free-play.

(image www.digsdigs.com)

It’s school holidays, and with a myriad of activities available for our kids to take part in, we’re wondering what happened to simply playing in the backyard and riding bikes in the street.

As cliched as it sounds, when I was a kid, my sister and I spent our school holidays (& weekends) riding our bikes, dressing up, playing boardgames and maybe watching the odd movie (as well as a lot of healthy sibling fighting). We ran in the garden and helped mum bake biscuits. Now, it seems we’ve become disconnected with the art of ‘free-play’.

The kind of unstructured, undirected play that my brother and I enjoyed has been labeled ‘free-play’ and it seems to scare parents. It seems as though we, as parents and educators of our children, are less likely to let them just play in case it limits their development or reduces their capacity for success in the future. Instead, they participate in highly structured (and often expensive) activities that are directed by adults and designed with a specific purpose.

However, experts, including the American Academy of Pediatrics, claim that ‘In order to develop socially, emotionally and cognitively, children need plenty of free, unstructured play - in other words, lots of old-fashioned free playtime’. Their report, "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds.", reminds us that ‘play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child’.

And just as adults strive to achieve the perfect work-life balance, as must we help our kids maintain a healthy balance between education and play. Too much structured activity adds stress to kids and parents alike and creates an rushed and often anxious environment. And while we know that play forms an important part of how our kids learn, perhaps we need to learn how to just let them play for the sake of play.

So by all means, get involved, grab some Lego, a couple of dolls or a tambourine and let the kids lead the way - who knows, you might just have some fun!

For a discussions on free-play and other issues relating to modern parenting, check out the 3PM Pick-Up Panel featuring Wendy Harmer, Kerri Sackville & Alex Brooks.

Tell us, what was your favourite game as a kid and do your kids engage in similar play?