Play is a great teacher, UD prof says

Play can help with cognitive, social, emotional and physical development, according to Dene Klinzing, professor of individual and family studies.

3:17 p.m., May 3, 2005--That tent your kid just built with the sofa cushions is more than just another mess to clean up, according to Dene Klinzing, UD professor of individual and family studies. It’s a testing ground for the laws of physics, a safe place to resolve fears and a valuable teaching tool for consequences of actions. And, it’s also an accomplishment of construction and an expression of originality.

That’s because, according to Klingzing, all play, regardless of the mess and noise it creates, has value.

“Play can help with cognitive, social, emotional and physical development,” Klinzing says. “But, often, nowadays, kids don’t have enough time for it. They go from school to soccer practice to a lesson to dinner, and sometimes between dinner and homework, they’ll even have another lesson.”

Kids would play almost every waking hour unless plopped in front of a TV, Klinzing says. And, while all play holds purpose, not all of it is created equal. Different play serves different ends and, Klinzing says, follows different trajectories.

Functional play—the type of seemingly aimless play that very young toddlers engage in without ever really completing a task or project—helps forge connections with the physical world, Klinzing says. Constructive play—the type of play that typically emerges between 3 and 6—sees the completion of a drawing, puzzle or block tower. And make-believe play—the type of “situational” play that extends throughout childhood—solves inner conflicts and fears.

“What you see over and over again, in all different types of play, is that it’s a very positive force,” Klinzing says. “Also, it follows a fairly predictable cycle. Typically, it pushes itself along until it peaks and then crashes.”

One way parents can smooth the ups and downs of playtime is to intervene gently and “support” a child’s play in order to stave off the frustrations and disappointments that inevitably lead to the biggest crashes, Klinzing says.

“This doesn’t mean that a parent has to stand there every second, but more that he or she needs to gauge when to suggest alternative directions,” Klinzing says.

“The important idea parents should keep in mind is to support play without controlling it and to remember that conflict resolution is an important outcome of play that doesn’t always go as planned.”

Klinzing says that another way to aid play is to provide kids with resources and tools that fire their imaginations.

“Children engage in a lot of what’s called ‘socio-dramatic’ play—play that mimics ordinary daily situations,” Klinzing says. “Parents can help this by giving their children resources that aid these dramas, such as dress-up clothes and boxes and items from the grocery store. Toys don’t need to be store-bought, and they don’t need to be expensive. Kids are naturally inventive when they play.”

Article by Becca Hutchinson
Photo by Kathy F. Atkinson

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