Integrative Pediatric and Adolescent Health: Educational Web Column

July 2008: The Benefits of "Free Play"

There have been notable efforts in the past couple of years to bring attention to the important role of ‘free play’ for our children. A growing number of studies are documenting the unique benefits it has on childhood development. The American Academy of Pediatrics published a report on the importance free play has on child development and strong, healthy parent-child bonds. Other studies have suggested benefits for children with attention problems. Pediatricians, parents and advocacy organizations have noticed the chipping away of the time our children have for unstructured play. My friend and colleague, Dr. Larry Rosen, has several blog posts on the topic. What do we do about it?

What is ‘free play?’
Free play can be quiet time on one’s own, or it can be a group of children on their own or loosely supervised by adults. The key is giving the space (physical and mental) for children to create and play; to solve problems – including social conflicts - with their own ingenuity. This kind of unstructured play, where a child is compelled to engage their imagination, is essential to cognitive, social, emotional and physical development and well-being.

How have things changed?
The excessive scheduling of structured activities (whether athletics, music, school work, arts, or structured ‘playdates’) has siphoned off time that we as adults remember spending differently as kids. In our nostalgia we decry the absence of the days when an after-school snack was followed by “I’m going out to play, Mom.” Now, school days are followed by increasing piles of homework, even in the earliest grades.

And when the homework’s done, the music, sports and extracurricular activities over, there comes the familiar and often pestering moan of “I’m bored”. The temptation is to allow another hour or two of TV/DVD/video game/computer. It is a powerful force against the need to help our children learn to solve the dilemma of what to do with their own perception of being bored, to allow them to dig their own way out of their conundrum. Additionally, the pressure parents feel to provide the ‘best’ experiences for their children lead them to be scheduled to the hilt with structured events, lessons, practices and games. (For further reading, see below).

What time is left for self-reflection; for play without purpose?

What can we do for our children?
It is important to encourage our children to ‘go play’ and to be creative. Children all have different interests and skills, so it may be useful to have options. Some children prefer to play by themselves and others prefer playing with groups. Some may be happy with crayons and large sheets of paper, while others prefer constructing things with ‘Legos’. With all of the scheduling, why not also plan in some free time for children and even their friends or other parents.

Interestingly, a recent study suggests that outdoor green space can be a uniquely important setting for free play, particularly for children with attention problems. Those of us in urban settings may feel this is a limiting factor, but we have more options than we may think…

Use the local parks (and advocate for their maintenance);
Check with local city authorities about blocking off your street for several hours of afternoon play time.
Talk to your neighbors and friends. Build a group of interested parents and set aside a time and place.
Use available resources for ideas, such as Children & Nature Network.

What can we do for ourselves?
That said, many of us have become over-scheduled ourselves. It takes a concerted, conscious effort for us to slow down and give ourselves time. And in our own haste we may lose the capacity to tolerate the impatience and ‘boredom’ of our children, not to mention take care of ourselves. We all have a wide range of temperaments – some of us enjoy being highly active and manage to balance our time well, others find too many activities to be draining. Learning to be mindful of our own needs and how to attend to them is one way to learn to help our children. We can be constructive – or detrimental – role models. The choice is ours.

There are several great resources to turn to for learning essential parenting skills. Everyday Blessings, a book by Jon Kabat-Zinn and his wife, Maya, addresses the inner experience of parenting and offers techniques on the specific skill of mindfulness. And Parenting From the Inside Out, a book by the child psychiatrist Daniel Seigel and Mary Hartzell, delves into recent research on the brain and offers helpful advice to parents about building nurturing relationships with their children. There are also practical classes in Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction at the Osher Center and in other communities throughout the country. Additionally the Osher Center offers a program on and Mindfulness Based Childbirth and Parenting to help expectant parents cultivate lifelong skills for healthy living and wise parenting.

You can also check with your health care provider or you child’s provider, for other options in your community.

Additional resources:

Kathy Hirsh-Pasek. Einstein Never Used Flash Cards: How Our Children Really Learn - And Why They Need to Play More and Memorize Less.

Marilee Jones and Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg. Less Stress, More Success: A New Approach to Guiding Your Teen Through College Admissions and Beyond.

About the Column

This column presents an integrative medicine view on a range of topics relevant to children, teens and early adolescents including: nutrition, herbs & supplements, mind-body and self-regulation skills, and general health and wellness.

If you’re new to the concept of integrative medicine, take a few minutes to browse the UCSF Osher Center web site, particularly the page what is integrative medicine?

Broadly speaking, integrative medicine is practicing good medicine. It is an approach to a child’s health that:

places illness in the context of the child, rather than the child in the context of illness;
takes into account family and environmental factors;
neither rejects conventional medicine nor accepts complementary or alternative medicine (CAM) uncritically.

Integrative pediatric consultations are available at the Osher Center with Kevin Barrows, MD, Rick McKinney, MD, and Priscilla Abercrombie, RN, NP, PhD, AHN-BC. To make an appointment, please call the main clinic line at 415.353.7720.

David Becker, MD, MPH is an Assistant Clinical Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco, and Affiliate Faculty at the Osher Center for Integrative Medicine at UCSF. He is starting the Pediatric Integrative Pain Clinic in July 2008. This is a referral-based service for children and adolescents with chronic pain. For questions about referrals, please contact the main Mt. Zion Pediatric number: 415.885.7478.

In addition, we offer two healthy parenting stress reduction classes: Mind in Labor and Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting.