Just let them play: Creative play develops children’s brains

Ever feel as if your days are scheduled from the moment you wake up until the moment you go to sleep?

Is your child involved in after-school sports and activities that keep you busy running them around?

If they’re not participating in an activity, then they’d better be doing their homework, right? Otherwise, what kind of parent are you?

And what about our kids? If they don’t do “all the things,” how will they be successful?

Well, what if I told you the No. 1 way to boost your child’s brain development is actually to do the opposite of what we’ve all been doing: Just let them play.

And when I say play, I don’t mean get out that board game and make sure everyone follows the rules. What I mean is unstructured play led by your child. I’m sure many of you, if you’re anything like me, just got hives reading that. But the research is clear: Creative play, and even physical play or “roughhousing,” develops the brain.

Play develops social and emotional skills, builds the part of our brain responsible for planning, problem-solving and organizing, and enhances self-esteem. Playtime is an opportunity for children to explore their natural reactions and impulses, experiment with their social skills to see whether they’re met with a positive or negative reaction, and find ways of solving their own problems.

Research has shown that self-directed learning, such as that associated with unstructured play, enhances a child’s brain by building and expanding neuronal pathways. Animal studies have even shown that playful young rats demonstrate more competent social skills as adults.

Have you ever heard your toddler participate in imaginative play, for instance pretending they’re at “school.” As you listen, you may hear them test communication skills: “I need you to sit down, please.” Or maybe they experiment with emotion management: “I’ve told you three times to sit down, now I’m getting upset!” All of this play is practice, and practice is learning.

An article in the Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics highlights play as being essential to the development of creativity, resilience, and cooperation skills. All of these skills have been linked to improved behavior, higher academic performance, and better attitudes about school.

From the brain perspective, this means enhanced brain structure and function of the whole brain with growth specifically in the area responsible for executive functions (the process of learning, rather than the content).

So you may be thinking, “This is great, but how do I make sure my kids use play to learn and not just destroy my house?” Although I did say that unstructured play is the way to go, for those, like me, who prefer not to leave things up to chance, here’s how you can guide without directing:

Sarah Allen is a pediatric neuropsychologist and author of the international best-seller “Raising Brains.”