The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 1 January 2007
- journal article
- guideline
- Published by American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in PEDIATRICS
- Vol. 119 (1), 182-191
- https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697
Abstract
Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play. This report offers guidelines on how pediatricians can advocate for children by helping families, school systems, and communities consider how best to ensure that play is protected as they seek the balance in children’s lives to create the optimal developmental milieu.Keywords
This publication has 59 references indexed in Scilit:
- Fathers and Mothers at Play With Their 2‐ and 3‐Year‐Olds: Contributions to Language and Cognitive DevelopmentChild Development, 2004
- Interpreting Successes and Failures: The Influence of Perfectionism on PerspectiveJournal for the Education of the Gifted, 2004
- The Functional Profiles of School Refusal BehaviorBehavior Modification, 2004
- Perfectionism and ethnicity: Implications for depressive symptoms and self-reported academic achievement.Cultural Diversity & Ethnic Minority Psychology, 2003
- For Parents Particularly: To Be Successful—Let Them Play!Childhood Education, 2002
- Review of Research: How Much Do We Know about the Importance of Play in Child Development?Childhood Education, 2002
- Chapter 4: Extracurricular and Other After-School Activities for YouthReview of Research in Education, 2002
- An investigation of perfectionism, mental health, achievement, and achievement motivation in adolescentsPsychology in the Schools, 2000
- Child-Mother Attachment of Six-Year-Olds and Social Competence at SchoolChild Development, 1990
- More than just play: The significance of mutually directed adult‐child activityEarly Child Development and Care, 1990