According to a study conducted in 2014 by the Observatory of Child Toy, 70% of parents said to have little time to play with their children. Given the difficulties in reconciling work and family life, the truth is that this result comes as no surprise.
Parents of twins or triplets we are fortunate that our children were born accompanied by one or more playmates and maybe why can fall at some point be tempted to feel that we need less in this regard.
So it never hurts to remember all the benefits that our children play with a little bit each day as well as the overall game for both children and adults:
- The game is a very important element facing the sensory and cognitive development of children, in terms of motor development, attention span, ability to solve problems, identifying shapes and colors … etc.
- The game joins together more families, promotes attachment, complicity and communication is an integrating element for all members.
- The game helps us better understand our children as we enter their world and, many times throughout the game, our children give us involuntarily concerns or questions that otherwise might not have wanted or known how to verbalize.
- The game helps develop language, a point that multiple often costs them a little.
- Play is a means of transmitting values. When we play them we teach a series of acts, rules and attitudes that are a very important social learning and positive values such as cooperation, consensus, perseverance and effort.
- The game teaches children to recognize and control their own emotions naturally, and empathy with others’ emotions.
- The game encourages creativity and imagination.
- Playing helps enhance social skills and the ability to interact with others. According to the theory of Jaak Panksepp, a researcher at Washington State University, after performing several studies with rats it concluded that the game produces permanent changes in the brain. Moreover, this improvement of social skills might even deploy effects matchmaking, just found the place two male rats with a female and verify that the animal had spent more hours playing amply demonstrated greater ability to seduce the female.
- Physical games are the best antidote to childhood obesity. The American Heart Association recommends one hour a day of moderate to children over two years period.
- Play with our children helps us eliminate stress.
- And last but not least, play with our kids is fun! And children playing with their parents are happier.
Similarly, the schoolyard is a moment of great importance for our children, both at rest as learning and social interaction. Several studies have shown the benefits of recreation, such as the study conducted by members of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, and published in the journal Pediatrics, where it was stated that a break of at least 15 minutes improves learning, social development and to the health of children of primary school. Recreational benefits have been the subject of numerous scientific studies
The truth is that play is not only good for children but also for adults. Johan Huizinga, Dutch historian, coined the term “Homo Ludens” (playing man), recognizing the game as an absolutely characteristic inherent to human activity (as well as many animals, even the turtles play!).
In recent years they have become very popular recreational businesses that introduce elements in their facilities for workers in order to improve the working environment reduce stress and enhance some skills such as team work. Can you imagine being given a break time at work and when we were kids?
