A well educated child can read a book, a child who has been allowed time to play and develop his imagination might write a book, or paint beautiful paintings, or even make breakthroughs in technology or medicine that haven’t been thought of yet.

Play is the way that children communicate just as talking is the way adults communicate. Even if children have good verbal skills, they are able to express themselves and their emotions more fully through play. Emotions are confusing for a child who has not yet learned acceptable ways to express them. Play offers a non-threatening environment for expression.

According to a report by the Journal of the American Pediatrics, “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.”

This right to play is challenged by many forces in third world countries; these include child labor, exploitive practices, war, violence, and poverty.

Unfortunately even children who have plentiful resources and live in a peaceful environment may not be receiving the full benefits of play. Many children are being raised in an increasingly pressured style that limits the time they are allowed to take part in child-driven play.

Though child-driven play is key to child development, children are being allowed less time for this important activity both at home and in school. Since the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, many school districts have had to drastically reduce time given to recess, creative arts, and even physical education. The time is now used to focus on reading and mathematics. Child psychologists believe that this will have a negative impact on children’s ability to store new information. Children need a definite and significant change in activity between periods of academic instruction. Changing subjects does not offer enough of a change nor does a period of structured play or physical activity. Children must be allowed time for free child-driven play during their academic day in order to meet their full learning potential.

Play helps children to use creativity while developing their imagination. It improves dexterity, in addition to physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. If children are allowed to play in an unstructured environment they are able to learn to work in groups, share, bargain, and resolve conflicts.

In the Time Magazine article, “Fertile Minds,” J. Madeleine Nash says, “Deprived of a stimulating environment, a child’s brain suffers. Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, for example, have found that children who don’t play much or are rarely touched develop brains that are 20% to 30% smaller than normal for their age.”

Now, like at no time in the past, children live highly scheduled lives. Parents feel pressure to make sure that they provide the most educational opportunities possible to make sure their children thrive academically. While some of these children are thriving others are reacting to the pressure of their scheduled and structured lives with anxiety and other signs of stress. These children have less time for child-driven play that in the past has served to protect them from these adult maladies.

Advocates for healthy child development must address the issue of play in all aspects of a child’s life. Children must be offered opportunities at home, at school, and in their communities to have free unstructured time to play. Play is not an optional activity but an essential one if today’s children are going to grow into healthy, mentally stable, productive adults.