Where Have All the Children Gone?

As I drive by parks, I never see any children.  Oh, there are the few toddlers now and again with the nannies who tend to be talking or texting on their cells.  But elementary school kids playing without structure or adults watching?  It doesn’t happen anymore.

We’ve heard so much about “Stranger Danger” that few parents will let their children out unsupervised.  Doris Bergen, in her article entitled “Play as the Learning Medium for Future Scientists, Mathematicians, and Engineers” in the American Journal of Play, says: “In recent years, playful methods of learning have almost disappeared from school classrooms, and active, creative, extended playtimes during recess, at home, and in neighborhoods have also greatly diminished. This disappearance of play is especially unfortunate because it is happening at the very time that professionals in many scientific, mathematical, and engineering fields articulate the need for creative and innovative thinkers in their professions and advocate for the use of playful learning methods to assist students in developing the intellectual abilities required for excellence in these fields.”

Oh sure, there are plenty of structured sports.  There are many parents who sign up their children for sports simply to help build their resumés.  Camps have changed from learning to swim, water ski, canoe or horseback ride to offering more sedentary courses that look good on a college application.

Play is not so important because it can be used to teach a specific set of skills, such as dribbling a ball.  Rather it is important because it is the way in which children can develop their ability to problem solve, how they express themselves, and learn to communicate. Basically it is the medium by which they grow.

Researchers believe that there is a correlation between a child’s playfulness and creativity.  Can the next Leonardo DaVinci be arise in empty playgrounds, soccer camps, or from playing computer games?

How can we best let children have free play in our modern society where we don’t dare let them out?