The Power of Play

The Importance of Play: Benefits for Children and Adults

Play is a range of intrinsically motivated activities done for recreational pleasure and enjoyment, which can be engaged in at any life stage, and among other higher-functioning animals as well, most notably mammals and birds.
Play can range from relaxed, free-spirited, and spontaneous through frivolous to planned or even compulsive, and has the potential to serve as an important tool in numerous aspects of daily life for adolescents, adults, and cognitively advanced non-human species.
There are multiple definitions of play, including any purposeful mental or physical activity performed either individually or group-wise in leisure time or at work for enjoyment, relaxation, and satisfaction of real-time or long-term needs, and freely chosen, personally directed, intrinsically motivated behavior that actively engages the child.
Play can take the form of improvisation or pretense, interactive, performance, mimicry, games, sports, and thrill-seeking, and is explicitly recognized in Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Sports are one of the most universal forms of play, with different continents having their own popular/dominant sports, and can be played as a leisure activity or within a competition.
Youth sport can provide a positive outcome for youth development, with research showing adolescents are more motivated and engaged in sports than any other activity, and these conditions predict a richer personal and interpersonal development.
Adults who engage in high amounts of play may find themselves described as "childish" or "young at heart" by less playful adults, but play is an important activity, regardless of age, and can lead to creativity and happiness.
Play can promote and aid in physical development, cognitive development, social skills, and can even act as a stepping stone into the world of integration, which can be a very stressful process.
The act of playtime is a cross-cultural phenomenon that is universally accepted and encouraged by most communities but can differ in the ways that it is performed.
Some cultures encourage playtime to stress cognitive benefits and the importance of learning how to care for oneself, while others stress more group-oriented learning and play where kids can learn what they can do with and for others.
Parent interactions when it comes to playtime also differ drastically within communities, with parents in some cultures interacting with their children in a playful mindset while others set aside time to play and teach their children through games and activities.
Playtime can be used as a way for children to learn the different ways of their culture, and research shows that regular participation in sport and physical activity is highly associated with lowering the risk of diabetes, heart disease, obesity, and other related diseases.
Creative play and imaginative play may allow adult individuals to practice useful habits such as learned optimism, which is helpful in managing fear or terrors, and playfulness can remove more serious attitudes that impede brainstorming or artistic experimentation in design.The Benefits of Play for Adults, Seniors, and Other Animals
Play is a necessary tool for effective adults, and incorporating play at work can lead to more productivity, creativity, job satisfaction, and workplace morale while decreasing staff turnover, absenteeism, and stress.
Older adults who engage in play and activity tend to have improved health, quality of life, and successful aging, and play has been integrated into physiotherapy and occupational therapy interventions for seniors.
Play can be observed in other animals and can tell much about their environment, personal needs, social rank, relationships, and eligibility for mating, and it may help them learn to switch and improvise all behaviors more effectively.
Learning through play is critical for childhood and child development, promotes healthy development of parent-child bonds, establishes social, emotional, and cognitive developmental milestones, and helps children relate to others, manage stress, and learn resiliency.
Role play has been linked to neurogenesis in the brain, and physical and mental play have influenced cognitive abilities in individuals, with as little as ten minutes of exercise improving cognitive abilities.
Mentally stimulating play can also have cognitive effects, with good toys for young children matching their stages of development and emerging abilities, and playing video games in moderation positively associated with skills strongly related to academic success.
Play can also influence one's social development and interactions, and much research focuses on the benefits of play for children, youth, adolescence, adults, seniors, and other animals.The Influence of Play on Child Social Development
Different forms of play have been noted to influence child social development.
One study explores the influence of playing styles with mothers versus playing styles with fathers and how it influences child social development.
Integral to positive development is the child's social competence or the ability to regulate their own emotions and behaviors in the social contexts of early childhood.
Play with parents has proven to reduce anxiety in children, making them more socially adjusted to peers at school or play.
Social development involving child interaction with peers is an area of influence for playful interactions with parents and peers.
Anji play is an educational method based on children's self-directed play in outside spaces, using simple tools made of natural material.
In Anji play, the teachers and instructors only observe and document the children's independent play.
Planning, experimenting, building, and using the structures to play in Anji play allows children to interact with peers, think critically, and discuss the plan and organize the construction hard work.
Anji play is applied at the pre-school level (to children from 3 to 6 years old) in Anji county, East China.
Anji play is also called "true play" and its guiding principles are love, risk, joy, engagement, and reflection.
The process of Anji play is observed and recorded by the teachers and instructors without intervention, even in instances of possible risk.
Before and after the two hours of play, children have the opportunity to express their plans and discuss with their peers.