NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665

May 13, 1999

Parent Line: Oh, That's Just Child's Play

Kim Bushaw, Parent Line Program Specialist
NDSU Extension Service

Have you ever used the saying, "Oh, that's just child's play?" Proclaiming that something is child's play usually indicates that it is easy. Children who are learning the important concepts of math, language, problem solving, cooperation, sequence, design, balance, turn taking and sharing through play will disagree. And this is just a partial list of all there is to learn while playing.

Child's play is worth talking about now that our world is so full of opportunities for young children. There are classes and teams, computer programs and television shows all geared to the very young. With so many choices for tots facing parents, what should they do? How can they choose?

According to the National Association for the Education of Young Children, play requires time, space, variety and the child's energy. This makes sense. Consider play for older kids, like your age, for instance.

It takes hours to play a round of golf or pack up and go swimming. A game of tennis is time consuming. So is bowling, walking, reading a book, putting together a puzzle, sewing and woodworking. Anything you do for leisure takes time. This is probably the No. 1 reason adults "play" so little. They simply don't have the time.

When we clear blocks of time for children to really work on their play, they can build elaborate plots and structures. Babies like to taste every inch of their rattle. Toddlers love to scoop and dump, scoop and dump. Preschoolers enjoy pulling out the barn and playing farm for days on end, lining up tractors, putting up fences and moving the plastic animals from one pasture to the next. School-age children will act out long, elaborate plays with only a prop or two.

Space to develop this kind of rich play is important, but it doesn't have to look like a vast toy store. Instead, find an inviting space, even if it is small, just for play. Use low, open shelving, and sort toys into separate plastic containers. Clearly identify which toy belongs where by drawing or taping a picture of the toy to the outside of the container. Pick-up time will be easier for everyone, including those children too young to read.

Variety keeps the play going longer. Be sure to select toys that are safe and fun. Choose different toys made from a host of materials. Wood, metal, fabric and plastic all provide interesting textures. Dress-up clothes and real props such as purses, backpacks, calculators, plastic bowls and briefcases add much imaginative fun to the play. Supply those items that encourage playing alone and those that help children cooperate. Always choose toys that children make work with their own power, not those that are powered by other sources of energy. NAEYC reminds us that "Price is no indicator of learning value."

Be sure to include play materials such as sand and water as often as possible. Quick, name five things a 4-year-old can learn from stomping in a mud puddle (besides how much trouble he will be in if he does it on the way to the car). Here are a few to get you thinking about how important play is to the learning process: Water and dirt make mud. Stomp a little, and the water flies up a little way. Stomp hard, and it goes up really high! Mud splashes make your clothes and skin dirty. Mud is at the bottom of the puddle, and it squishes between your toes. It might be kind of cold. Sometimes the hole is deeper than it looks.

There are probably many more, especially if one adds a measuring cup, some plastic containers, a big spoon, a handful of plastic animals, a boat-size chunk of wood and time to run all of those possible, very important experiments. Child's play, indeed.

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More than 100 Parent Line columns are in the book "Please Tell Me This is Just a Stage." To order, send $9.95 per copy to Distribution Center, Box 5655, NDSU, Fargo, ND 58105-5655.

Kim Bushaw answers the Parent Line, an information and listening support line for North Dakota parents from the NDSU Extension Service. Call the Parent Line at 1-800-258-0808 (231-7923 in Fargo) with questions about this column and other parenting topics. The Parent Line is answered 7:30 a.m. - 9:15 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 7:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Friday.

Source: Kim Bushaw (701) 231-1070

Editor: Becky Koch (701) 231-7875