mental health

PLAY-ing EXPERTS (Part 2)

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wise owl - 2
FUN WISE OWL SAYS:
“Play help us be the best we can be!”

PREVIOUS: PLAY-ing EXPERTS (Part 1)

QUOTE:  If you want creative workers, give them enough time to play. ~ Actor John Cleese

 MORE Play EXPERTS
Piaget (1962) wrote that children learn primarily by doing, & that Play is the main way they take in their surroundings, absorb it into their thinking about the world, & use it as psychic nourishment. It’s what Maria Montessori called the “absorbent mind of the child”: they soak up their environment, and by taking it in, they become it.

Karen Hutchison is a play advocate and expert, teaching at Rowan University, & the U.S. delegate for the International Play Association’s “Right To Play Award” in 2012.
She’s concerned that in recent years Play is under attack. It’s being curtailed in the U.S. by parents trying to protect their kids from harm or over-scheduling their ‘free time’, while schools are cutting recess for economic reasons. Since the 1970s, kids have lost, on average, 9 hours of free playtime a week!
She messy playcommented: “True play is unstructured. It’s messy & it’s child-initiated. Not allowing them to go onto the playground to get scraped knees & even broken arms – is doing more harm, by preventing them from learning what they can or can’t do. Experience is the best teacher. That’s what play is all about.” (MORE….)

Gary Chick, anthropologist at Pennsylvania State U, focused his studies on the non‐Western cross‐cultural validity of the concept of leisure (Article)

Johan Huizinga, the Dutch historian, cultural theorist & professor, wrote in “Playing Man” (1938) that Play is an important component of culture & society. The book lists general RULES:
> Play is free, & is in fact, freedom
> Play is not ‘ordinary’ nor ‘real life’, separate in both location
> Play creates order, absolute & supreme order, demands order
> Play is not connected to material interest, & no profit is gained from it.play circle

Huizinga considered it to be a most basic human function, calling it the ‘magic circle’ of human activity that permeats all cultures from the beginning, expressed in creative language.
“Play is older than culture, for culture always presupposes human society, & animals have not waited for man to teach them their playing.”  One of the most important characteristics of play is that it’s fun.

• He noted that Play “absorbs the participant intensely & utterly…. proceeds within its own proper boundaries of time & space, according to fixed rules, in an orderly manner. Both free & structured play are meant to promote adaptive social behaviors & enjoyment, even though many adults consider the ‘loose’ type (unstructured) a waste of time.
It promotes the formation of social groupings that tend to surround themselves with secrecy & stress the difference from the common world by disguise or other means.”

Carl Jung, Swiss psychiatrist & one-time student of Freud, felt that access to the unconscious archetypal energies could provide the blueprint for profound change, when allowed to surface (conscious ego).
“The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct, acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves….. Without this ‘playing with fantasy’ no creative work has ever yet come to birth. The debt we owe to the play of the imagination is incalculable.”sand play

• An extension of his work is SAND PLAY, originally developed by Margaret Lowenfeld in the 1930’s. It’s a self-directed learning & therapeutic tool that emphasizes nonverbal, symbolic work in sand, similar to dreamwork, believed to tap into very deep levels of consciousness that helps heal and enlighten

Frank Salamone is a prolific anthropologist & writer. His book “Society, Culture, Leisure and Play: An Anthropological Reference” (2000) is a collection of 42 articles about the many facets of leisure, taken from his almost 30 years experience in the field, ranging from adornment to weaving, with considerable depth about music and the other arts.

NEXT: PLAY-ing EXPERTS (Part 3)

PLAY-ing EXPERTS (Part 1)

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clever owlCLEVER WISE OWL SAYS:

“It’s good for us to play

PREVIOUS: Childhood Play – Stages (#2)

ARTICLE: “The Importance of Play”

 

ACoAs: Some of us may still think this topic is frivolous, not to be taken seriously. We seem to be even more afflicted than most people with the ‘Adult Syndrome’ – which is not seeing ‘nearby objects of amusement’, oblivious to the possibilities of joy

In fact, each of us DO have the ability to draw on a happiness & sense of humor that comes from inside. But we’ve been so conditioned to work hard, to suffer & shut up about it! that we can’t imagine ‘letting go’. It makes us uncomfortable, squirming in our seats.
You can’t ask us to just sit around & relax, do nothing, & try to have fun. For some that’s pure sacrilege, for others blatant disobedience

SO – it might helpful to read what some of the many students of Human Nature have to say about Play.

“Free play”, the purest form, is what kids are designed to do – imaginative, independent, self-motivated & unstructured – where children initiate their own games, & even invent their own procedures.

Free play is critical for “becoming socially adept – allowing children to develop competence, exercise self-control, follow rules, form interests, learn to –animal play–> get along with others, make decisions, make friends, regulate their emotions & solve problems” – without being traumatized! WOW.

Research into animal behavior confirms Play’s benefits, establishing its developmental importance : Playing & being playful provide animals & humans with skills that help them survive & reproduce

EXP: According to the AMA, when adults take a vacation from work, even a 4-day weekend, we’re more inventive, productive & healthier (fewer sick days) when we return
> And, a study led by Princeton researcher Alan Krueger found that people are at their happiest when involved in leisure activities

• There are many books, articles & whole organizations focused on PLAY, such as —> The American Journal of Play, The National Institute for Play, the National Museum of Play, the National Toy Hall of Fame, The Strong (educational institution studying play, in upstate NY), the Brian Sutton-Smith Library and Archives of Play, the International Play Association, the International Center for the History of Electronic Games…..

Some EXPERTS
Many of the most prominent researchers in the field of psychology (Freud, Jung, Piaget, W. James, Lev Vygotsky….) considered Play an intrinsic part of being Human, & had strong views on how important it is to child development.Freud
Freud regarded play as the way children accomplish their first great cultural & psychological achievements – noting how well & easily it allows them to express their thoughts & emotions

This is true even for an infant who may ‘only’ be returning its mother’s smile, called Attunement Play. He believed that young children could be unaware of or overwhelmed by their emotions, except by acting them out in play-fantasy.
> Other psychoanalysts noticed how children use play to work through & master quite complicated psychological problems of their experiences, which led to Play Therapy.

Dr. Stuart Brown, psychiatrist, in the late 1960s, was assigned to evaluate Charles Whitman of the U of Texas Tower massacre, & later interviewed 26 convicted Texas murderers for a small pilot study.

He discovered that most of the killers, including Whitman, shared two abuse/no playthings in common : they were from abusive families, and they never played as kids.

Since then he’s talked extensively to almost 6,000 people about their childhood, & again found “that a lack of opportunities for unstructured, imaginative play can keep children from growing into happy, well-adjusted adults.”  At age 76 he’s still hooked on playing. (TED Talk)

Research by Jenkins & Astington, 2000 / Leslie, 1987 / Singer & Singer, 1990 & 2005 – showed that make-believe (Pretend) play is closely related to the “Theory of Mind”. This important concept has to do with an awareness that one’s thoughts may differ from those of other people, and that each of us is capable of a variety of perspectives.

NEXT: Play-ing Experts (#2)

Childhood PLAY – STAGES (Part 2)

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jump rope 

I WANT TO PLAY WITH MOM & DAD
but not too much!

PREVIOUS: Children & Play (Part 1)

SITE: Ages & Stages of Child Development 


DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES of Play in Early Childhood (cont.)
4. Parallel P  (Part 1)

5. Associative P.
This is when children start to see the value in playing with others, but test their boundaries. They don’t ignore their own interests, with a mild attempt to control who can & can’t be in the group. They’re involved with what others are doing – all play the same games, talk about what they’re doing, borrow & lend play things, follow each other with trains or wagons…. without assigning tasks & materials, or choosing a goal. They may alternate playing with others & then on their own

SKILLS which help build friendships:frindship play
• Cooperation (if we work together we can make our city even better!)
• Language development (what to say to get their messages across)
• Problem solving (how can we make this city bigger?)
• Socialization (what should we build now?)

3 – 4 yrs. old: They play cooperatively together, taking turns with other children. Show more reasoning skills & ask Qs re. ‘why’ and ‘how’.
Recognize shapes, letters, colors, & can solve jigsaw puzzles by combining thinking by trial and error. Play imaginatively (play house, dress-up //  make sandcastles, collect rocks…).

6. Cooperative Play
When children focus on a joint effort rather than on themselves, bringing together all of the social skills they’ve been working on, and putting them into action. Play is organized to:
–> make a tangible object, reach a competitive goal, dramatize situations of adult & group life, or play formal games.
At this level there’s usually one clear leader, play is structured, & they work together toward a common goal. This can cause conflicts, but also can be resolved quickly

Co-op Play allows mastery of important new social skills:
• Obeying rules: Most want very much to win, even if it means cheating
• Negotiating: Must learn to give as well as take, to compromise on what they want – all of which is hard to acceptsharing when you’re the ‘center of the universe’

• Sharing: When little ones want something, the thought of giving it up to someone else is almost unbearable. It’s made harder by the confusing use of  ‘share’ – some things you’ll get back (a toy) some things you won’t (a cookie)
• Taking turns: their desires are urgent & immediate. – “I want it NOW.” Delaying gratification is required, & being able to imagine what it’s like being the other children. Empathy already learned (hopefully at home) & during parallel play will help

> This stage may be seen in younger pre-schoolers as well, if they have older siblings or are around a lot of other children
• 4 – 6 yrs. old : They plays cooperatively, take turns & may enjoy table-top games. Start to understand & use symbols (for writing & reading).
Are better able to reason & figure out their experiences. Start to understand simple rules in games
• 6 – 8 yrs. old : They like to play with children of their own gender. Enjoy playing co-operative games in small groups a& making up their own games with rules, but usually don’t cope well with losing

ACoA INVENTORY re. Play Stages
IMP: Always start from the position that you are not deficient, even if the WIC doesn’t believe it, yet – but rather how you were raised.

Using Part 1 & 2, WRITE what you can about your play history. Keeping in mind the limitations & stressors of your childhood  :
• List what you did get to do – at each stage – what parts you missed out on, how each one turned out and what affect that had on you – emotionally.
• Given your present-day patterns, are you struggling with one or more of the stages?
• Identify if & how you’ve added healthy playing to your life in the course of Recovery (review the DEF of Play).

NEXT: STAGES (Part 2)

Childhood PLAY – STAGES (Part 1)

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tea with bear EACH STYLE IS IMPORTANT –
I’ll have to try them all out!

PREVIOUS: Play  FORMS (Part 3)

BOOK:  “Play, Stress, and the Learning Brain”


DEVELOPMENTAL STAGES of Play (P) in Early Childhood
Mildren Parten (1932) proposed that children progress through SIX social levels of play, each one more complex & requiring more social skills to be able to interact successfully with their peer group.
Normal progression is from solitary >> to comfortable social interaction, as the child grows physically & psychologically

KEEP IN MIND: Types of play
Except for the infant, the stages are fluid, & can show up at different ages, depending on the personality & circumstances of each child.  — > CHART

1. Unoccupied Behavior
Babies mainly look at anything that catches their eye, including watching adults closely.
If nothing exciting is happening they’ll play with their own body, & later will get on & off chairs, stand around, follow an adult, or sit in one spot & observe. In spite of appearances, this is early play, setting the stage for future play exploration

• Birth-6 months: Babies explore by putting things in their mouth & touching things with hands. They’ll play alone with toys, such as rattles & shakers or banging things with both hands
• 6-12 months: They look at & imitate adults, copy their actions – such as dropping things. Continue playing with toys alone, explore things with mouth & hands. Like simple games (peek-a-boo….)

2. Onlooker Behavior  
This is when children definitely spend most of their time watching others at play rather than other exciting things in the environment. They’ll stay near enough to maybe talk to other players, ask questions or give suggestions, but not participate.
Toddlers learn how to act when they’re ready to join in the fun. Watching the big kids play is a great way to learn the politics of the playground (no stealing shovels!)

• 12-18 months: They start playing with grown-ups & notice other children. Learn through trial & error, such as banging 2 objects & finding out the sounds they make. Repeat actions they enjoyed. Play & ‘talk’ alone.
> 2 & 3 yr olds in solitary play are learning how to keep themselves entertained, eventually setting the path for being self-sufficientlone play

3. Solitary Play
When children play independently, with toys that are different from those used by others who are within speaking distance. They make no effort to get closer, content to pursue their own activity without referring to what anyone else is doing. They’re still too self-oriented, don’t yet have much of a vocabulary, or may be shy, & are too interested in exploring the world around them to play socially

• 1.5 – 2 yrs old : Like to play with adults as well as alone.
Look at other children playing but don’t join in. Copy them and adults. Continue to explore things with mouth, and learn by trial and error. Like repetitive actions, such as putting objects in and out of boxes, and scribbling on many pages

4. Parallel P 
This is when children play independently but alongside other kids, with toys that are like the others but used in their own style, and don’t try to influence or modify what nearby children are doing.
They are in fact learning quite a bit from each other, because even though they don’t seem parallel playto be paying attention, they often mimic the other’s behavior. It’s an important bridge to later stages of play

• 1.5 – 2.5 yrs old: They show interest in what’s happening by pointing or squealing, but may prefer to do it from the safety of a caregiver’s lap
• 2.5 – 3 yrs old : They start to play near other children, & while not acknowledging each other, are happy to play separately side by side.  They continue copying them & adults.
Begin to show some reasoning skills, & using symbols in play (a stick becomes a sword). Much of the play is ‘imaginative’ (scolding toys). Still learning by trial and error.

NEXT: Childhood Play STAGES (Part 2)

Childhood PLAY – FORMS (Part 3)

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kids playing

THERE are ALWAYS MORE
ways to play!

PREVIOUS:
Childhood Play- #2

 

FORMS of Childhood PLAY (cont)
2. Emotional
3. Mental

4. SOCIAL
Social P: a key part of fun activities, from the simplest romp or wrestling of young animals to the most humorous, complex banter of close adult friends.
The more children play with others – the easier they can move thru different social stages. How engaged they are & good at interacting with other children – can be observed, validated or corrected as needed.  Activities listed in Part 1

• Interacting in play-settings teaches children social rules, principles & standards…. such as give & take, reciprocity, cooperation & sharing.
Playing with others who are at different social stages also helps develop moral reasoning, to form a mature sense of their own values.play rules

Rule-governed P: by age 5-6, children like pretending, & playing formal games that have rules.  Piaget suggested this shows they’re about to shift into the next stage of mental & practical functioning, which requires an understanding of guidelines.
EXP: Follow the Leader, Red Rover, Simon Says, baseball and soccer….

Most children progress from a self-centered view of the world to understanding the importance of social agreements which includes rules – that the ‘game of life’ has laws we all must follow to function productively

Competitive P: a variation of all games, where children compete as well as co-operate (follow the rules), take turns & work as a team (Chutes and Ladders, Little League….). This can be a lot of fun if the child wins, but they’ll need help dealing with losing
Recapitulative P : allows the child to explore ancestry, history, rituals, stories, rhymes, fire/light & darkness. Enables them to access Playing from earlier human eras

Transformative P (integrative): With many new experiences & a great variety of infcreate newo, children learn that imagination can improve & go beyond the ordinary in life, & what’s known so far in the world (mulling over a problem, daydreaming…..)
This can form the seeds of new ideas & create a higher state of knowledge, like Einstein seeing himself happily riding on a sunbeam at the speed of light
Brain imaging technology tells us : Play + Science = Transformation

👥    👥  👥
Early GENDER DIFFERENCES 
• Culture – In some, boys are separated from girls at a very early age. In others, there’s little concern for gender segregation, so in nursery school they play in same-sex groups (Western Europe) (Fagot, 1994)

• Family / culture – Parents treat boys & girls differently, based on society’s norms. Also, they respond according to how much they like each child – because of the child’s personality & how similar they are to each parent (narcissism)

• Nature – Gender preferences in types of play can be seen at about age 2 – by their ownboys & girls choice.
Male & female brains are wired differently in significant ways, which show up right from the start
EXP of how nature effects a child’s perceptions: By age 4 children can tell the difference between the sexes but don’t yet know that gender is a constant
BOYS
• are hard-wired for spatial-mechanical play, so need more physical space & will may ‘bounce off walls’ when confined
• don’t hear as well as girls, so may need adults to speak up or tap an arm to get their attention. When an instruction is ignored, they can be asked to repeat it back to the adult
• need time to finish an activity before moving on to the next
• mock fighting is natural at this stage, an early form of male bonding
GIRLS
• usually gravitate to dolls, stuffed animals & art materials. Higher levels of oxytocin encourage girls to love & care for their dolls, which boys only see as inanimate objects to be thrown around
• verbal skills develop early, boys later
• tend to use all their senses, while boys rely mainly on visual cues
• may ‘flirt’ with dad – showing love for Father, & a healthy identification with Mother.

“BRAIN SEX: The Real Difference Between Men and Women” Anne Moir & David Jessel, PhD:

NEXT: Childhood Play – STAGES – #1

Childhood PLAY – FORMS (Part 2)

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play formsI HAVE LOTS OF OPTIONS
for playing with my fiends               

PREVIOUS: Childhood Play – Forms, #1

SITEs:  Science & Human Play

✦ Child Development Theories


FORMS of PLAY in Childhood (cont.)
1. Physical

2. EMOTIONAL / Psychological
Attunement Play (P) – is when a connection is being formed between newborn & mother, as she makes faces & funny noises, tickles, rubs, sings….. AND as the infant makes eye contact with mother, causing a mutual surge of joy.
This can be seen on EEGs…: the right cerebral cortex, which organizes emotional control, is “attuned” in both mother & infant

Quiet P – activities useful when the child is tired or needs ‘down time’ but not sleep. Can often be conducted in one place, such as looking at books, working with blocks, coloring, finger painting, using play dough…..

Constructive P – psychologically, the child is able to form something new from available materials, which gives them a sense of accomplishment & empowerment – that they can be in control of or have an effect on their environmentparasail

Deep P – allows the child to face risky or even potentially life-threatening experiences, to develop survival skills & conquer fear (rock-climbing, para-sailing, jumping from a platform in a harness, zip- lining….)

Symbolic P – allows the child to be in control, gradually exploring & increasing its understanding without the risk of being out of their depth (educational video games, virtual driving practice, ‘scuba diving’ in a pool or shallow pond….)

3. MENTAL  / Artistic
Imaginative, Fantasy or Socio-dramatic Play – ‘rearranging’ reality as the child pictures it, where conventional rules that govern the physical world do not apply.
Somewhere in the preschool years, children begin using make-believe to invent scenes & act them out – “dress-up, doctor, restaurant, princess, pirate…”. In early ages they usually play alone, with dolls & may have imaginary companions, but sometimes with adults.
Later they incorporate other children. pretend play(See “Social Play”) Creative Play allows for new responses, transforming information, becoming aware of new connections, & an element of surprise

First Pretend Play:  Typically 15 – 21 mths.
It’s when children use a toy copy of an object or person & treat it the way they would the real thing . Piaget believed this kind of play was an important indicator of a child’s capacity to use symbols. For a boy, perhaps a train – be the conductor, for a girl usually a doll – pretend-feed with spoon…).

Substitute Pretend P:  Between ages 2-3 children start using objects to stand for something altogether different, such as a carrot-&-stick as imaginary a violin-&-bow.
This type of P. is key for innovation, creativity & nourishing the spirit. In a risk-free environment, as children grow, there will be many opportunities to practice developing needed abilities

However, deprivation & trauma inhibit or prevent learning many of the following ‘normal’ skills:
• able to practice using coping tools, which come from trying out new roles & possible situations
• learn to take turns, co-operate, share
• develop abstract & flexible thinking, to understand & use amounts, numbers, place, symbols, time…. (essential knowledge in an ever-more technological society)

• experiment with language, use new words or word-combinations to express ideas, concepts, dreams, emotions & histories
• stretch the imagination to create ideas & stories beyond the here-&-now
• form a sense of how others think (learning patterns, not mind-reading)
• learn how to function in the greater community, which helps to understand & trust others

Communication P – children who are comfortable manipulating objects & materials also become good at manipulating language, ideas & concepts. They Play using words, puns, debates, jokes, poetry, nuances.  ALSO with gestures, mime, making fun of, play acting, singing…..

Narrative P – storytelling is how most kids love to learn, & is considered the unit of human understanding, so it’s important to healthy early development.
It teaches about other places & societies, develops the intellect, makes sense of the world & one’s particular place in it, passing on tradition while indirectly teaching social mores & values.

NEXT: Child Play FORMS – #3

Childhood PLAY – FORMS (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help

play stagesAS I GROW & DEVELOP
I can try lots of new ways to play!

PREVIOUS: Play – Intro #2

BOOK: A Playworker’s Taxonomy of Play Types, 1996

SITE: National Institute for Play

 

FORMS of PLAY in Childhood 
Research shows that playing is critical to healthy brain development.  It is as fundamental a childhood need as parental love, good food, sleep, healthy social interaction, & the fulfillment of emotional needs. Failure to learn play-skills early on can lead to problems with peers & in the classroom. Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the UN High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child. (General Assembly Resolution 44/25, 11/20/89)

• The idea that play is ‘natural’ & has ‘value’ for children is a relatively new social awareness. Its roots are in the European Enlightenment & Romantic eras, from the writings of Rousseau, Pestalozzi & Froebel…(1750s to 1850s). It’s a powerful motivator for learning because it’s enjoyable, self-initiated, engaging, active, & lets kids discover knowledge in their own way.

NOTE – re. TIME: being aware of it, managing it, harnessing it – are not some of the skills Play is involved in or teaches. The whole point of play is that there are no time limits, no deadlines & getting so caught up in it that ‘time flies’!
> That’s why some adults say that their jobs don’t feel like work: it’s fun – for them, and so absorbing they lose track of time.

THESE are not all listed by age but rather by category.baby parts
1. PHYSICAL  (Self & things)
Body Play – when infants explore how their body works & interacts with the world, preparing them to think in motion & in 3-D. Self-movement & play lights up the brain, structures our knowledge of our environment, & prepares us for the unexpected or unusual

Sensori-motor / Functional Play – it’s considered the first actual form of play, & continues thru childhood. Babies use early reflexes, then gradually become more deliberate as finer motor skills develop. Babies enjoy shaking a rattle, splashing in the bath, dropping objects repeatedly from a high chair….. & by age 1 they spend most of playtime exploring & manipulating objects (rolling a ball, dragging a pull toy)

puzzlesConstructive P –  by age 2+ children start to manipulate their environment to create & build things, which takes up nearly half their play time between ages 3 – 6.  It provides Practical info:
by experimenting with objects & ‘parts’, including drawing & music, learning how things fit together, what works & what doesn’t…. Piaget suggested it’s the foundation for understanding the rules that govern physical reality

Mastery P – emerges around age 4-5, when the child learns to control physical parts of the environments & how they function
EXP: run & jump over obstacles on a playground while pretending to be a cartoon superhero

Object / Exploratory P – which uses infinite & interesting sequences of hand-eye manipulations & movements. It a way to express curiosity & gather factual information from handling physical things…. Hands playing with all sorts of objects helps the brain develop beyond manual dexterity.
🔆 Object Play in the young is correlated with effective adult Problem Solving skills

Exploratory P – gathering factual information from activities such as handling, throwing, banging or mouthing objects (size, shape, feeling….)
Loco-motor P – movement in any or every direction for its own sake
EXP: running in circles, zooming around with arms out like an airplane…)

Active / Physical P – requires a good deal of energy, & is less about being social, although it does involves that, but more about movement. It helps children develop gross & fine motor skills
EXP: throwing & catching balls, climbing frames, riding a bike…)

Rough and Tumble P – physically close encounters, less to do with fighting & more about touching, tickling & gauging relative strength. It helps children discover flexibility & the exhilaration of showing off.

NEXT: Play FORMS (Part 3)

Childhood PLAY- Intro (Part 2)

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fantasy 2
THE MORE I LET MYSELF PLAY
the healthier my kid & I can be

PREVIOUS: Children & Play – Intro (Part 1)

BOOK:“Play, Stress & the Learning Brain”

\
💠 LEARNING STYLES -via NLP (#1)

💠 ACoA INVENTORY – WRITE what comes up for you as you carefully read thru each Benefit type.
As an adult: In spite of childhood trauma, & looking at your life-long patterns, identify which skills have always come easily / naturally, where you’ve excelled, which ones you’ve been working at the most, & what needs improving

cognitiveBENEFITS of Childhood PLAY
Positive Play experiences help children develop emotions & connections, sensing & moving, listening & talking, thinking & remembering
a. COGNITIVE skills
> Critical thinking – play encourages learning how to problem-solve, along with concepts like cause-&-effect, quantities & spatial relationships
> Creativity & Imagination – pretending to be doctors, teachers, parents, firefighters, astronauts….. kids learn that life is full of possibilities & opportunities

b. LANGUAGE skills
> Language – develops together with play as the brain grows & children use words while playing with toys & engaging in joint activities, expanding the ability to think & understand  (chart)language

• Both language & make-believe play involve the ability to represent the world mentally to oneself, so their developmental are parallel. Children play with:
— Sounds and noises // Linguistic systems (meanings of grammatical constructions) // Rhymes and words //  Conventions of speech. (MORE….)

c. MOTOR Skills
motor skills> Fine-motor – are developed by handling & manipulate objects – toys, books, art supplies, small animals
> Gross-motor – by being able to balance, catch, climb, crawl, jump, reach, run,  throw, walk…. when playing

d. SOCIO-EMOTIONAL Skills
> Social – Play helps build relationships, which children master by learning to follow directions, cooperate, take turns, share & obey the rules. It’s one way they learn about & practice living in their world & culture

> Emotional – spending time with safe adults, siblings & other children helps children learn about emotions – how to identify & manage them, as well as recognize & appreciate the feelings of others. It also helps them manage & cope with emotions when upsetting things happen

Social & Mental Disorders Increase as Play Decreases
• Unfortunately this vital part of growing up (play time) is being eroded – not only by the trauma of daily life in severely dysfunctional homes, but by a widespread systematic shift in our schools to ‘accomplishment’ – Doing rather than Being.

A study by the Alliance for Childhood “Crisis in the Kindergarten” tells us that free play or ‘choice time’ in most of them has dwindled to the vanishing point (30 min or less a day), replaced by lengthy lessons & standardized testing (about 2-3 hrs, daily)

• At a WonderPlay conference in 2008 Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a Temple U. psychologist told her audience that lack of play in early childhood education “could be the next global warming,”. Without enough time to develop innovation & creative thinking via PLAY, America’s children will be at a disadvantage in the global economy. (MORE…)emotional problems

• Peter Gray’s book, Free to Learn (2013), tells us that for more than 50 years now, Americans (& other ‘advanced’ countries) have gradually reduced children’s freedom to play – which is correlated with a rise in childhood emotional problems

• Children are required to spend more time at schoolwork, & then are channeled into adult-directed after-school activities & lessons, with little or no time to explore on their own.
>> The decline in this freedom is showing up as an overall decline in empathy & a rise in narcissism, documented since the late 1970s by standardized questionnaires given to samples of typical college students (MORE….)

• Competitive, self-conscious parents are behind the emphasis on formal learning in preschool, more homework in elementary school & more pressure on young children to quickly gain academic skills.
Consequences are potentially dire, says psychologist Michael Thompson. He believes that diminished time to play freely with other children is producing a generation of socially inept young people, & is one reason for high rates of youth obesity, anxiety, ADD & depression.

NEXT: Childhood Play – FORMS (Part 1)

Childhood PLAY – Intro (Part 1)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , , ,

fantasy landTHERE’S SO MUCH TO DO!
Games by myself, games with friends….

PREVIOUS: ACoAs & Play (#5)

SITE: Scientific Benefits of Play

BOOK: “Cycles of Power” ˜ Pamela Levin (Developmental Stages)

QUOTE: “Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet, & the winds long to play with your hair.”  ~ Khalil Gibran

📕 Maria Montessori said “Children’s play is their work….”,  and modern play therapists added “Toys are their words”. Children are concrete learners, & must experience their world through all their senses in order to make sense of it.
At it’s best, a child’s world is filled with the magic of exploration, discovery, make-believe & play – vehicles for development. Play is the most important activity in their lives – sometimes more desired than food & sleep

• Actually, IF given the opportunity – Play is one of the most powerful tools children have for trying out & mastering new ideas, skills & activities. Much of their early learning comes through self-discovery, an outcome of play. It gives the opportunity to figure out -on their own- confusing social, emotional & intellectual issues.
By coming up with new ideas & solutions during play, they gain a positive attitude toward learning, & a sense of empowerment by being in control of their small world, rarely available to them later in real life.

Normal BRAIN Development
Although we’re born with basic genetic wiring, most of our synaptic connbrain developmentections form in early childhood. This process is shaped by internal & external experiences, & guided by the emotional bonds created between parent & child

So it’s very important to provide a loving family, warm home, with special attention (affection, playing…..), & appropriate education – to ensure healthy brain growth that will lead to a child’s optimum mental, emotional & social development. (Brain Development in Children  – detailed by age & style)

0 – 1.5 yr: Almost all neuron (nerve cells) are present at birth, but most are not yet formed into networks. Greatest growth is seen in sensori-motor & visual cortex, & then the frontal lobe. Piaget’s “practice play” reflects the development of these areas

1.5 – 3 yrs: Synapses continue to expand, reaching about 1,000 trillion – twice the density of the adult brain. so the toddler brain is twice as active.

3 – 6 yrs:  Fastest growth period for the frontal lobes. Processing speed, memory & problem solving increases
6-9 yrs: The synaptic connections in motor & sensory areas are firmly established. Elimination of synapses (pruning) in these areas has begun.  Children’s levels of attention & ability to modify impulses increases.

LEARNING STYLES (via NLP)
Everyone is born with a dominant sense – sound, sight, or touch. Less common are smell & taste. V.A.K. list of Preference //  V.A.K. Test  //  Examples:learning tree
Visual learners
> Statement : “Enough with the theories – just show me!”
> Play activities can include computers, CDs, DVDs, charts, diagrams, maps, reading & writing, photography, movies & video

Auditory learners
> Statement : “That doesn’t sound right to me” 
> Play activities can include debating, puppet shows, reciting songs or poems, story-telling, panel discussions, & the use of tape-recording for feedback & correction

Kinesthetic/Tactile learners
> Statement : “That makes me sick to my stomach!”
> Play activities can include demonstrations, dance, body games (rocking, field trips, modeling), play dough, playing instruments, sand play ….

PLAY & LEARNING: Studies at U of CA at Berkley look at ‘pretending’, which relates to what philosophers call “counterfactual thinking“, like Einstein wondering what would happen if a train went at the speed of light. It seems that children who are better at pretending can reason better about counterfactualspossibilities

❖ ‘Thinking about different possibilities’ has a crucial role in early learning – children at play are like pint-sized scientists testing theories.
They imagine how the world could / might work, predict various outcomes if their theories were true, then compare those ideas to what they actually see. Even toddlers turn out to be smarter than we’ve been assuming, if only we asked the right questions – in the right way. (MORE….)

NEXT: Children & Play – Intro (Part 2)

ACoAs & PLAYING (Part 6)

dmtorbi 12-step, ACoAs, al-anon, Alcoholics Anonymous, alcoholism, mental health, Psychotherapy, recovery, self growth, self-help , , , ,

no timeNO TIME, NO TIME
for all that silly stuff! 

PREVIOUS : ACoAs & Play (#5)

SITE:: 7 Secrets of Dysfunctional Families (ironic)

QUOTE: “There is nothing that human beings do, know, think, hope & fear that has not been attempted, experienced, practiced or at least anticipated in children’s play” Heidi Britz-Crecelius (‘Children at Play’)

💠 ACoAs ‘NOT KNOWING’ what we like, or How to Play (Part 5)

💠 PLAY & the Wounded Inner Child (WIC)
ACoAs: Not taking time out to play is a lot like our great resistance to developing the daily habit of talking with our Inner Child. The same attitude applies to not building in down-time (just vegging) & play-time (doing something relaxing & fun).
We think: ‘Why do we even have play? Isn’t it an indulgence, a waste of time? Aren’t we always supposed to be busy DOING something productive?’ NO.

• Adult play is not a waste of time. It’s actually a necessary component of being healthy. In a busy & competitive world ‘normal’ adults have forgottenhealthy vs not to play the way they did as kids, & need to be reminded of the freedom & benefits of spontaneous enjoyment.
But most ACoAs don’t have those ‘good times’ to look back on. WE didn’t have much of a chance to play – too busy care-taking, while being terrified, isolated & hiding from real danger!
WE:
• were programmed to live un-healthily, & play was not in it
• say we can’t decide what to do (but our Healthy kid knows!)
• are afraid to break any of the Toxic Rules
• can’t allow ourselves to have fun if our family members, or other loved ones, are in pain. We would feel guilty to not co-dependently suffer with them!

🦠 But it’s also understandable that some of us can’t find the fun in anything  – if we’re severely depressed or ill, still live in an abusive environment &/or are always worried about something serious ($$, lack of work, an ill child or parent, an angry spouse…. )

Just like we can’t let love in when we feel unsafe, we can’t feel free to play with too much anxiety.  Even the idea of Play doesn’t make sense to us – at first. John Bradshaw reminds us that ACoAs were forced to become Human Do-ings instead of Human Be-ings. So as adults it scares us to just BE, either doing something we like – or nothing, once in a while.

BTW, this is not the ‘nothing’ of depression or laziness, which is actually fear & hopelessness. Rather it’s the Be-ing of pleasure! It comes from feeling relief, being in our own skin instead of in someone else’s head.
It’s being good to ourselves, knowing we are safe.
And that safety comes FROM :
a. finding the right person & style of therapy, 12 Step meetings & books, mentors & friends – to set an example & give us the correct info about our past and what Mental Health is
b. our own persistent efforts to use all the tools at our disposal, including ‘constant contact’ with the IC
c. having a daily, deep connection to a safe, loving Higher Power Who supports us in the healing process

REQUIREMENTS for being able to Play
As we heal we can add recreation into our schedule. It may be uncomfortable for a while, but as with so many things, repetition makes it easier, & then becomes the new norm. For healthy play & ‘good, clean fun’ we need TO:
• carve out or use available free time to ‘waste’ on fun
• not be under pressure to produce anything in particular
• have a measure of control & autonomy over our choices – not compulsively obeying our self-destructive Family Rules nor follow someone else’s lead
• practice using our native imagination &/or skills for play

Ultimately, we need a decent amount of self-esteem (for internal permission), a relatively low-level of anxiety (at least at play-time).
💓 Don’t wait for some magical future time when you’re ‘well enough‘ – to have some fun & relax. Start slowly, but start now.

NEXT: Childhood PLAY (Intro)