Children play less and less and feel worse, this is shown by a study that points out that children’s leisure activities leave too little time for free play.
Psychologist Jenny Jägerfeld explains how important play is and answers the question of whether you, as a parent, must play with your children.
– It is very important for the child to be seen by the parents, to be close to their parents and to feel that they are important in their parents’ lives. And then the game is a very good way to do it.
A new study, carried out by researchers at Denmark’s Institute for Pædagogik og Uddannelse at Aarhus University, shows that children are playing less and less.
– The game is incredibly important. It is extremely important for imagination, for language, to be able to understand social relationships and to see what one dares and is physically capable of, says psychologist and author Jenny Jägerfeld.
The study points out that play has to take a backseat to other scheduled activities and the children seem to feel worse because of it. She believes that it is a common problem that children have too many activities.
– It is much more common to have too many activities than too few. There may be too little time left for free play.
How much should you play with your children?
Children often want adults to play with them, and when children these days play less in the neighborhood, parents become a more important playmate, says Jenny Jägerfeld. At the same time, there are many who find it difficult or boring to play with their children.
– If you think back a few generations, there probably weren’t that many people who played with their children, in the sense that we think. On the other hand, it is very important for the child to be seen by the parents, to be close to their parents and to feel that they are important in their parents’ lives. And then the game is a very good way to do it.
However, Jenny Jägerfeld believes that you don’t have to play role-play.
– I think that perhaps the concept of what play is should be broadened. Often you think of role-play, but play is so much more. It can be hunting, building a hut, designing and building, drawing or making works of art together.
“You have to be careful about that”
The fact that children are busy with screens can also be a reason why children play less, says Jenny Jägerfeld. But she doesn’t think screens are only negative.
– You can do lots of exciting creative things on a screen, you can read or draw. But sometimes it becomes passive watching of films, and there the screens may take time away from the game.
She also believes that it is important as a parent not to give your child a screen of convenience, because you don’t want to clean up after the hut or the toy box.
– I think you should watch out for that. There is a great deal that the child does not develop when looking at a screen, for example motor skills, she says.
2023-11-27 10:29:45
#psychologist #important #play #child
