Question

Do you think that the lack of unstructured play in today's children is harmful to cognitive development, or is pretend play just a "by-product of other developing skills" that are fostered in other ways today?

Answer 1

I do think that the lack of unstructured play can be harmful to a child's cognitive development. During childhood, play is not merely a recreational activity but is a setting that fosters the development of several intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities.Unstructured play, in particular, is associated with higher order functions such as creativity, problem-solving, decision making as well as collaboration, negotiation and conflict resolution. In structured play, children have to restrict many of their activities to rules and regulations established by adults and thus the freedom that the would otherwise enjoy in unstructured play is compromised. We must remember that as children grow older, they are unlikely to experience such free expression in their lifetime.