Play (part-2)

★Relative Time Spent in Work and Play.

Although adults from the upper social classes may have an unusual amount of free time, they do not always spend it in play; much of the community and charity work is carried on by volunteer workers from the upper social classes who feel these activities make some contribution to persons less fortunate than they. Adults of the lower social classes, owing to the short workweek and the many labor saving devices of today, have more time to spend as they wish than is used for work. Because relatively few people from the lower social classes engage in community activities, they have proportionally more playtime than members of the upper or middle social classes.

The same is true for children. Much of the free time of upper-class children is devoted to activities their parents believe will prepare them for successful social adjustments, such as music, dancing, or skating lessons. In the home, they are expected to assume only small responsibilities, such as caring for their rooms and clothing and occasionally helping with the meals.

Children of the lower social classes, by contrast, have no formal social training outside of school, nor are they expected to assume many home duties while they are young. As a result, they have proportionally more time free for play. As they reach the fourth or fifth grade in school, girls from the lower classes are expected to devote more time to home responsibilities, such as care of the younger children, laundry work, cleaning, and preparation of meals, while boys spend much of their after-school time in jobs to earn money. Because parents of the lower classes do not place a high value on education, their children spend less out-of-school time on studies in late childhood than children of the middle and upper classes.

★ Value of play

Play is such an accepted part of child life that few people stop to consider how important its role is. Far too often, parents and teachers regard play as a "waste of time." They do not realize that too little play deprives the child of many of the learning opportunities essential to wholesome development. As Millichamp has pointed out, play "helps the child to develop as a person". To achieve this goal, the child must have a balance of work and play-not too much or too little of either. When a child begins to be bored with play and asks, "What shall I do now?" it is evident that the scale has been too heavily tipped on the play side. If, on the other hand, he shows boredom with his studies or home duties, or if he begins to work below his capacity, it means that the work side of the scale has been overloaded; he then needs more time and opportunity for play.

Play makes many contributions to the development of a child, most of which cannot be made through other channels.

★Physical Value.

Active play is essential if the child is to develop his muscles properly and exercise all parts of his body. It also serves as an outlet for surplus energy which, if pent up, makes the child tense, nervous, and irritable. True, the physical benefits of play could be achieved by engaging in "setting-up" exercises several times daily, but because the child does not appreciate the importance of exercise, he would probably rebel against these exercises and do them in such a halfhearted way that any benefit he might derive from them would be counteracted by the emotional tension aroused.

As childhood progresses, many children find sedentary play, such as reading, watching television, or going to the movies, more pleasurable than active play. Their attitude toward different types of play is greatly influenced by the attitudes of significant people in their lives, especially parents and peers.

*In discussing the influence of parental attitudes toward active play, Martin and Vincent stated:

The attitude of parents toward physical play and exercise has much to do with the child's attitude. If the parents are enthusiastic about games and sports, or about walks in the open, they will participate in these, sometimes sharing the activity with the child, sometimes teaching the child basic skills in the various sports, but all the time setting an example and passing on their enthusiasm. If, on the other hand, the parents consider intellectual activities to be the only desirable way to spend time, and if they regard sports and games as something for the unintelligent only, they may discourage activities involving physical play. And the child, consequently, may be retarded in his progress in general body control.