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If adults buy houses and cars to “keep up with the Joneses,” then kids need the newest video games and hi-tech devices to keep up with little Jimmy and Suzy Jones. David Elkind, Ph.D., contends that kids would be happier and healthier if we threw out the batteries and cleared out PDAs of the structured schedules in which we have trapped our children - maybe pick up a Lego block, or try out a swing instead.
Dr. Elkind uses his book The Power of Play to discuss some of the issues that have eliminated play from a child’s day and why it is important to reintroduce unscheduled, unstructured creative play that promotes imagination and cooperation.
Elkind, a professor of child development at Tufts
University, outlines small but effective changes parents can make, offers tips for the kinds of toys to purchase, and highlights games that help promote specific skills. He has a straightforward, pleasant approach to writing
(he has authored several books, including the parenting classic The Hurried Child) that will please parents as they search for the basics.
The argument against too many scheduled activities for children has been going back and forth for many years. The Power of Play is an incredibly useful book for anyone who wants to get their kids out the daily grind but just do not know how.
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The Power of Play: How Spontaneous, Imaginative Activities Lead to Happier, Healthier Children