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More Math, Less Fun; Is Playtime in Peril?
Categories: Preschoolers, Kids 5-7, Development, In The News, Education, Extreme Childhood
Kindergartners play eight hours less per week compared to 20 years ago. Credit: jupiterimages
According to an article in Monitor on Psychology, the report, "Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School," comes to some alarming conclusions. Among the findings is the fact that kindergartners in New York City and Los Angeles spend almost three hours a day engaged in reading and math instruction and test preparation, leaving fewer than 30 minutes for "choice time," or play.
Complied by a nonprofit group of psychologists and educators called the Alliance for Childhood, the report also warned that kids are getting fewer and fewer hours of dress-up and make-believe at home, due to organized sports, video games and educational computer games.
Wait a minute -- don't we want our kids to focus on reading and math right away? The experts say no."Play is really important for young children, for social and cognitive development," psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, a child development researcher at Temple University, told Monitor on Psychology. "And yet we're taking it away."
Hirsh-Pasek asserts that a fear of failure prompts parents to push their children harder and faster than earlier generations -- for example, expecting kids to learn how to read in kindergarten instead of in first grade. She added that creativity and and critical thinking are fostered through childhood play.
"Playful learning leads to literacy and math skills," Hirsh-Pasek told the publication.
Do your kids play less than you did?
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
CLM 10-14-2009 @ 4:38PM
I definitely agree that play is of paramount importance at a young age. For little ones it is their work! My boys are 2 and are counting (more or less accurately depending on the day) up to 10. Not because I use flashcards or educational videos, but because they LOVE vehicles of any shape and size. I've always counted the numbers of cars or trucks we saw on walks because they enjoy it, but it's been more a game than anything else. I didn't even realize they were truly counting until they started lining up their toy cars in rows and telling me how many there were.
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Pyrrh 10-14-2009 @ 7:48PM
Follow CLM's example; she incorporates learning into play, and that will foster a love for learning for a lifetime. I have tiny educational moments throughout the day with my 18-month-old, and I've done this since she was born. She can read over 100 words, sign about fifty, manipulate shapes into a shape-sorter, and identify at least nine colors and eleven shapes. The thing is, she LOVES these little education bites. She gets upset when we stop!
The "experts" can't say that there is too much focus on academics when half of the USA's high school graduates can't read very well. Turn off the computers, cut down on the organized sports, and PLAY WITH YOUR KIDS. Better yet, teach them while you play. Educational videos are fantastic, but don't use them as a constant babysitter. Watch with them, and interact. Who knows, you may learn something, too!
betterhomemaking.net
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Karen 10-17-2009 @ 11:24AM
They experts CAN and SHOULD say that there is too much focus on academics even in the early grades (through 4th grade).
It is absolutely absurd that my 3rd grader is getting the same information that I got in 8th grade. He cannot synthesize the information. The BEST he can do is memorize it for the short term and repeat back for the test.
Focus on reading and math in the early grades and incorporate as much play as possible. But make some of it productive play as mentioned above. That is how children LEARN in the early grades.
And lets not forget the importance of fostering a LOVE for learning. I want RIGOROUS testing, but I want it age approrpiate. And I suspect that if we did this - we'd have better test scores in the later grades.
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Sifrina 10-17-2009 @ 12:38PM
Yes, small children are losing their precious unstructured play time, and I do think this time is very important for their development - social, cognitive, creative, academic, etc. A major factor I see are overscheduled, overdriven families (our lacross-obsessed area actually offers lacross for kindergartners and 4 year olds often sign up for piano classes!).
We keep things simple and have family dinner together almost every night of the week even though we both work full time. There is generally just 1 after school activity at a time. Our 2nd grader knows he has to keep up with his above grade level schoolwork (that always comes first), but after that and during the weekends I make it a point to to leave him plenty of "reading/putter around/daydream" time (both indoords and out) that I used to love as a child (and I still love).
On computer games and tv, we're ok w/ that at times (though I understand why many parents make it off limits during the week or altogether), but I monitor carefully and do shut it down and suggest another activity when it is dominating his free time.
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goaskmom 10-21-2009 @ 8:03AM
We held our oldest two back 18 years ago, and had them start kindergarten when they were six. Even then we were concerned at the early emphasis on academics and the lack of play time. Today it's even worse.
I'm sorry for the kids who are pushed so much now. Studies have repeatedly shown how much play time helps increase focus. When will we learn?
Kayla Fay
http://www.24hourscienceprojects.com
http://www.goaskmom.com
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