8
When my grandson Jackson was two years old
and I was giving him a bath, a small spider
dropped down from above onto the rim of the
bathtub. Jackson started screaming in fear of
the spider. I was surprised and tried to show
Jackson that the little creature was harmless,
but he kept on screaming and seemed genuinely
scared. So, I wrapped Jackson in a towel and
lifted him out of the tub.
The next day when Jackson came over to my
house after day care, I had some play things set
out. There was playdough, a tiny doll (Jackson’s
baby brother had just been born so he played with
the little doll a lot), and a plastic spider—the
kind you can buy in a jug full of different kinds
of plastic animals. There was
also a little box on the table.
Jackson put the toy baby into
the box. He squished some
playdough into a flat shape,
covered the baby up, and
said, “The baby is scared of
the spider.” Then he took the
baby back out of the box, then
quickly returned it to the box, covered it with
playdough and repeated, “The baby is scared
of the spider.” And, then once more, Jackson
repeated the same little scenario.
A two-year-old is just beginning to play, but we
can see the simple and important elements of play
in what Jackson did. He told a little story that
was based in his own experience with the spider,
but it was also partly from his imagination. He
projected his own fear of the spider onto the baby
and then found a way to protect the baby from
the spider with the playdough cover. Jackson
repeated this little story several times, all the
while getting a sense of mastery over what had
scared him.
As children get older, their play becomes more
complex. Brain scientists would tell us that
the neural structures of the brain increase
as children’s play gets more complex, and the
growing brain supports more complex play.
Children get better at playing the more they
play. They need to practice every day so they
can become good players.
Jackson’s spider encounter is an example of an
everyday stress that could happen in the life
of a fortunate child like Jackson whose basic
needs—for a home, food, love, and security—are
well met. There are forms of stress that some
children experience that are far more severe
than seeing a spider. But even in situations
where there is more extreme stress--often when
there is poverty or violence in a child’s life--play
is a vital resource that can help children cope. I
have been amazed at the ability of children I’ve
worked with in situations of
violence and war that are able
to use their play to strengthen
their sense of safety and
security.
In observing children at
play, whoever they are and
whatever their circumstances,
I look for the basic elements of play that we saw
in Jackson at age two: a story that comes from
the child’s own experience; some original parts to
the story that come from the child’s imagination;
some evidence of emotional benefit to the child
(i.e., making sense of a situation; feeling positive,
secure and safe; having fun).
Because play is such a vital resource for healthy
development, it is worrisome to observe the
significant decline in children’s play today.
Children are now playing less both at home and
in school.
7
In classrooms for young children, we’ve seen a
dramatic decline in play. The education reforms
of the last almost twenty years have pushed
academic standards and testing down to our
youngest kids, even to preschoolers. Studies
have shown that classrooms for young children
have far less play than in the past, less arts,
Because play is such a
vital resource for healthy
development, it is worrisome to
observe the significant decline
in children’s play today.