There is more than one way to play. Whether it is imagining fantasy worlds on the playground or surfing the waves at Huntington Beach, we like to play. Play is not just fun, it is important. Free and unstructured play with no scores, no prizes, and no rules is full of meaning and value. It is an ingredient that is too often both missing and misunderstood.
Aaron James, UC Irvine professor of philosophy, tells us in his book, Surfing With Sartre that, “Surfers don’t surf just for the fun of it, for the sake of pleasing mental states; they surf as an end in itself, 'for surfing’s sake,' which is to say for the sake of what is intrinsically wonderful about it.”
Intrinsically wonderful play is not just for young children. Through all stages of development, children use play and playfulness to be creative, to collaborate and communicate, to be curious, to challenge themselves, to think critically, to negotiate and solve problems, to take risks, make mistakes, to build trust in others, to explore the world, to figure out where they fit in.
Free play and playfulness is spontaneous, open ended, self-chosen, often with no point or goal other than keeping the playfulness going. Play for a seven year-old might be pretending to be a kitten, for an eleven year-old might be cosplaying as their favorite anime character, and for a teenager might be hanging out with friends at the skatepark practicing tricks, cracking jokes, and showing off their hair that was recently dyed blue.
Free play gives them a space away from adult eyes, a place where they have ownership and can do things the way they want to do them. They can be in control. They can safely try on new identities and invent themselves.
Children playing freely build social skills: sharing ideas, expressing themselves, negotiating rules of the game, and reaching compromises. Children in play develop emotionally: learning to regulate themselves, seeing the world through others, and developing autonomy. Free play helps physical development: strengthening muscles, building coordination, control, and reflexes.
Unfortunately, play doesn’t always fit into our modern lives where we are scheduled to the minute and everything is done towards achieving an end.
Play asks us to be free with time, less worried about how it pays off, and lost in the moment, like the surfer catching waves for its own sake. We lose the value of play if we try to cram it into a box: a box of time, a box of meaning, a box of efficiency. Many children experience more structured play than free play. Soccer teams and theatre productions and cheer squads have more in common with a school classroom than a school playground with their fixed time schedules, performance ranking, and adults in charge.
Our children deserve the time, space, and freedom to invent their own games, hang out with friends with no agenda, and discover themselves in the spontaneity and improvisation of free play.