The importance of play

[Nithit Singhsachthep]

Dear Tabitha,
     Thanks for sharing the radio interview with us.
     We live in a society of extremes, and like Kenneth had said, "it's about finding the balance". I believe that both structured and unstructured activities are equally important, the key is finding the balance. I grew up not having the opportunity of doing a lot of structured enrichment activities and found myself to be a kid who lacked a talent, while many of my friends were really good at something, for example; one could play the piano, the other was an awesome basketball player etc. This made me feel inferior to them as I could not figure what I was really talented at. However, I do agree that many people spend too much time driving their kids from one enrichment activity to another that they loose out on the true essence of "playing" and having fun. Nonetheless, if we as adults continue to strive toward finding that balance for our children, where they can experience the best of both worlds; the structured as well as the unstructured play time, we are heading on the right track. But I also believe that as role models to children of our society, we must demonstrate the importance of unstructured play in our own lives.
 
Respectfully,
Tej.

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> From: tabitha.d...@gmail.com
> To: I2...@googlegroups.com
> Subject: The importance of play
> Date: Wed, 29 Nov 2006 15:14:19 +0000
>
>
> This might be especially interesting for the Elem. crew. If you can
> access the audio, take a listen to this show:
>
> http://www.whyy.org/cgi-bin/newwebRTlookup.cgi
>
> Here's the description:
> Pediatrician KENNETH GINSBURG talks about the importance of play in
> children's development and how it helps kids and teens build
> resilience. Ginsburg is Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the
> University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and practices adolescent
> medicine at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Listen to this
> show via Real Audio
>
>
>