Quotes about play
“Play is hard to maintain as you get
older. You get less playful. You shouldn’t, of course”.
Richard Feynman
American physicist
1918–1988
“We don't stop playing because we
grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”
George Bernard Shaw
Play was a huge part of my memories
from childhood. I remember pretending to
play school, house and dress up. I had a
love for Barbie dolls and blocks, which I played with a lot. Some of my play was inside but a lot was
outside with bikes, skip-it, chalk, jump ropes and with neighborhood
friends. I remember being told to “stay
outside and find something to play with or come inside and sit in my room and
do nothing” by both my parents. Many
times we went to Rock Creek Park, the playground, the beach which didn’t allow
for lots of TV time. I did not grow up
with game systems which I know had a huge part in the development of my
imagination. All of our play senarioes
were created by us, without support from the TV or games.
Today there is little play. TV and games have taken over children
imagination. Children are not creative
thinkers. Children come home and watch
TV or play games instead of going outside to play. I have noticed children do not know how to
pretend or work with others in play situations.
I hope that teachers and families
learn the importance of play. I hope
school administrators learn the value of play and promote play as an active
tool for learning instead of pushing for “rigor”. Once families and schools are on board I hope
children will become comfortable pretending, playing, and using their imagination
to their fullest.
