The Importance of Play

One evening I came home to an strange looking green paste in a bowl on our kitchen counter. Steph explained that we were now almost out of parmesan cheese because Emma and Aspen had decided to take the entire container of parmesan cheese and to mix it with a can of enchilada sauce.

On another occasion while I was busy watching Grant Emma decided to make herself a buttered graham cracker. For those who are unfamiliar with this tasty dessert, it consists of 1 part cracker and about 3 parts butter-thus leaving you unsure if there is actually a graham cracker at all in the mountain of butter. Also to prepare this dish properly you should scoop out the butter with your hands. To top it off you should throw the butter-buried graham cracker in a large cup of water.

Next to sibling quarrels the messy or sometimes even dangerous consequences of children playing is one of the greatest challenges of a parent. And yet, play is so important. I recently read The Happiness Hypothesis by Jonathan Haidt. In the book Haidt discusses the role of play in our evolution and how, like most things in evolution, play is one of those great trade-offs between risk and reward. Play, he explained, is a necessary part of understanding the world we live in. Among our ancient ancestors it's true children who were too reckless or excessive in their play were endangered and potentially didn't survive but those who didn't play didn't learn about their world and consequently didn't survive either. Play is a child's path of discovery, a delicate balance between the dangers of exploration with the need to comprehend their world.

Admittedly this doesn't always console me when I'm cleaning up my daughters latest concoction or fishing in my son's mouth to remove whatever mysterious object he's found on the floor. But recognizing they are following the instincts that will help them learn and understand their world I do find added patience and a greater willingness to accept the occassional mess. I also find a bit of excitement in how I can channel that desire into more productive and safe paths so that they can cultivate a desire to learn throughout their lives.