Playing with your children will not only make you happier, it will boost your offspring’s chances of thriving in later life. It develops confidence, creativity, communication and critical thinking skills.
Therefore, and especially in this digital era, families ought to spend more time investing energy with their little ones. That is the prevalent message of the recently published Lego Play Well Report 2018, which suggests that 81% of children wish their parents would play with them more.
It considers four key areas: the benefits of play for parents, children and families; preferences and barriers to play; the importance of lifelong learning through play; and the role of play in developing skills for the future.
“Our belief in every child’s right to play well is as strong as ever,” says Lego Group CEO Niels Christiansen in his introduction, pointing out that the name of the brand, created in 1934, is based on the Danish term “leg godt”, meaning “play well”.
“Perceived happiness and wellbeing increase when adults and children play together regularly,” he continues. “The urge to play is nature’s way of helping us make sense of the world and our place in it. Through play we learn how our minds and bodies work and discover how others think and feel. Through play we come to know what it means to belong, to be loved and feel happiness.”
Tackling the concerns around “screen time”, Christiansen says when children “co-view television with their parents, they are more likely to learn words, and test higher on cognitive abilities, than if they watch alone”, and he adds: “This tells us that screen-based play can have a positive impact if parents are willing to join in.”
Jim Knight, chief education adviser at Tes Global, a network for educational professionals, believes youngsters should be allowed to play for as many years as possible. “It’s not worth trying to force a two- or three-year-old to sit down and learn in a regimented fashion,” he says.
“Different cultures have different views. In Scandinavia, children attend school from the age of six, and in many ways I think that is the sensible thing to do. In Britain, we have a parental expectation for our children to be taught formal skills – such as reading and writing – earlier.”
The 90-page report is the result of a cross-cultural survey, gleaned from almost 13,000 responses of attitudes and behaviours in nine countries – China, Denmark, France, Germany, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Mexico, the UK and the US.
It lists 10 principles of play to inspire parents to engage better with their children; these include “be silly”, “gamify chores” and “think creativity over mess”.
Anne Flemmert Jensen, Lego Group’s senior director of innovation and trends, acknowledges that the advent of the digital revolution has brought “dramatic change” and calls for parents to embrace “fluid play”.
“Kids don’t see the same distinction between digital and physical as we do,” she says. “They are seamlessly moving from one to the other without thinking. They are interested in meaningful, fun and energising play that helps them understand themselves and helps them to be social and engage with others. Digital and physical play can be combined in ways that enhance their experience.”
The Danish toy company, which celebrated its third worldwide Lego Play Day in September, has increasingly focused on products that embrace this combination. A new Lego Duplo Train, for children up to the age of five, can have the course of its motor-powered engine altered via action bricks. There is an optional application that enables users to guide their train through a connected device.
Similarly, Lego Boost merges digital programming and physical building, encouraging older children to create and manoeuvre Lego robots.
“In 2018, play is as important as it has ever been,” adds Flemmert Jensen. “It helps children develop essential life skills, it builds self-confidence and creativity, and encourages socialising and problem-solving – all of which leads to happy grownups.”
Lord Knight argues that many secondary schools “are stuck in formal pedagogies [teaching theories]” and must introduce more play-based learning, through projects.
He asks: “Why wouldn’t we want kids to learn by building stuff and making things, being assessed by exhibiting work, rather than doing everything through formal desk-based exams?”
Knight singles out Singapore as “the best example” of a country learning from other nations and “bringing in more self-direction and a more playful sense around learning”.
Caroline Essame, a social entrepreneur, therapist and educator based in Singapore, warns: “Play is one of the most powerful tools I have seen in my 32-year career, and any society neglects it at their peril.”
“The time and space for children to play have been lost in the past generation. Certainly as urbanisation and competition for resources rapidly increases we are seeing less physical, sensory and creative play in children as a phenomenon across the developed world.”
“We have been told education is the answer, which is true, but sadly this has so often been at the expense of play – without realising that play is fundamental to learning and helps us develop key skills that will ensure we can navigate life, work and relationships.”
10 principles of play
As part of the Lego Play Well Report 2018, made in collaboration with parenting expert Jessica Joelle Alexander, 10 concepts are offered to inspire families to play well.
1 Challenge your mindset. Play is not the lazy choice. The benefits of play are profound for children, families and society.
2 Encourage free play. The less structured and supervised play is, the more rewarding children find it.
3 Kickstart with physical activity. Physical play can help parents get into the right mindset after a long day at work.
4 Variety is key. There are many ways to play: physical, creative, emotional, social, digital and cognitive. Balance is essential to develop skills.
5 Go with the flow. By going with the flow we become highly creative, lose sense of time and learn most easily.
6 Think creativity over mess. Children don’t see mess; they see a stimulating environment full of creative tools.
7 Embrace mistakes. When mistakes are made, help to support and not direct the child, and let them figure it out themselves.
8 Be silly. Funny voices, mimicry and physical actions help children flex their imaginations and storytelling abilities.
9 Plan a family playdate. Children love to have something to look forward to. Let them call the shots.
10 Gamify chores. Turn dusting or folding into a dance party, or add an element of competition by trying to beat the clock.
