Why Is it Necessary for Children's Play to Flow Freely?

Creativity

• According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, children are the most creative when they have less-restrictive but safe playtime. For example, if your son wants to create a ball game that's similar to dodge ball, this can add a freshness to the playtime routine.

Self-Expression

• Another benefit of free-form playtime is that the children can express their individuality, which adds diversity to playgroups at school and in the neighborhood. For example, your twins may decide to dress up as unique comic book characters at the school's fall festival and the classmates may like it.

Physical Activity

• When children play freely during a certain part of the day, it increases their physical activity, which is important for good health. In one instance, the children may want to play basketball for 30 minutes, race each other for 20 minutes and get on the swings for the last few minutes of playtime.

Fun Fact

• Parents can also get in on the act. If it's raining on a particular day, you and the children can play Scrabble and this helps them challenge themselves mentally. You can also hold a bake-off with them and have your spouse be the judge.

Considerations

• The best thing about free-form children's play is that they have the chance to interact with others and learn good conversational skills. This is especially important as video games and television threaten to hinder those important skills that children need.