All the fun to be had with a piano bench
Thursday, 21 February 2008 by Joscelynn TomawThis morning, my cousin and favorite childhood playmate, Rachel, forwarded me this story from NPR’s Morning Edition about the association of play with toys and the importance of unstructured, imaginative play. This was fantastic timing. Earlier, as I put Jonah on his “tummy time mat,” I had been thinking about how silly it probably is in the grand scheme of things. What are the odds that without his brightly colored surfboard mat, Jonah would fail to crawl? It’s probably a little early to be too worried about Jonah’s imaginative development, but this story suggests that toys actually crowd out important opportunities for children to “self-structure,” hindering their emotional and intellectual development.
It just so happens that Rachel and I played pretend like nobody’s business. You really haven’t played unless you’ve created some piano bench horses and played “international horseback travelers with passports.” Hours of fun. Don’t tell my mother, but this is where I do start to worry that Jonah will have less space and freedom to play pretend as a city kid. Is my concern justified or silly?
February 21st, 2008 at 13:23
Jonah can get all the “pretend” time he needs down here at Granma Vicky’s!!! Just think of all the wandering he can do in the buildings and pasture.