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[...] Play time is in short supply for children these days and the lifelong consequences for developing children can be more serious than many people realize.
An article in the most recent issue of the American Journal of Play details not only how much children's play time has declined, but how this lack of play affects emotional development, leading to the rise of anxiety, depression, and problems of attention and self control.
[...] Gray describes this kind of unstructured, freely-chosen play as a testing ground for life. It provides critical life experiences without which young children cannot develop into confident and competent adults. Gray's article is meant to serve as a wake-up call regarding the effects of lost play, and he believes that lack of childhood free play time is a huge loss that must be addressed for the sake of our children and society.
Parents who hover over and intrude on their children's play are a big part of the problem, according to Gray. "It is hard to find groups of children outdoors at all, and, if you do find them, they are likely to be wearing uniforms and following the directions of coaches while their parents dutifully watch and cheer." He cites a study which assessed the way 6- to 8-year-olds spent their time in 1981 and again in 1997.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by bzipitidoo on Sunday May 13 2018, @02:06AM (1 child)
In recent years, I've often heard of Child Protective Services going overboard. They've gotten a pretty bad rep for heavy handed interference and wild interpretations of innocent actions and things as dangers to children.
It's not only CPS and "think of the children" arguments. That's a reflection of a whole society grown more fearful of everything. Consider the ridiculous measures taken at the airports in the name of security. Also indicative are car safety measures. Mexican cars can't be sold in the US as is because they don't meet the much higher safety standards, they have to be beefed up with so many expensive modifications, such as strengthening the b pillars, that it's simply not worth doing.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by terrab0t on Sunday May 13 2018, @12:00PM
It’s not just fearfulness. It’s a willingness of adults to accept overzealous authority.
That’s why society enforcing helicopter parenting is a dangerous thing. Those kids will grow up used to the idea that they have no personal freedom or privacy because their parents weren’t even allowed to give it to them. 15 years from now, when you try to explain to someone from this generation of children that the police should not be able to search your home without a warrant they will look at you in complete confusion.