Gallery: Sit Back, Relax, and Let Your Kids Play Their Way to Greatness
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Store-bought toys put kids in the role of consumers. When they build their own playthings, they’re creators and makers.
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Games of pretend are good practice in seeing the world from another perspective, a prerequisite for empathy.
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Once kids master something like dressing themselves, they naturally start riffing, inventing new paradigms like ... sweater-pants.
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Imaginary friends aren’t always a sign of loneliness. They’re often alter egos that children use to sort out their impulses.
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Every parent says it: “Must you touch *every-thing*?!” The answer is yes. It’s how kids study the world.
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By challenging themselves physically (and skinning knees), kids gain self-assurance and a willingness to take risks.
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If it’s fun, once is never enough. When kids play, they’ll keep doing something until they perfect it. It’s not OCD, it’s practice at practicing.
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Roughhousing imparts social skills. By learning to stop short of hurting—or even by taking a dive—kids develop standards of fairness and altruism.
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Kids can learn a lot from an older sibling, and the education is mutual—the sibling gets hands-on leadership training.
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Instead of explaining something, letting a kid figure it out teaches them the joy of discovery.
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Having some private space is an important first step in developing independence.
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What we see: a big mess. What they see: an experiment in how disparate substances combine.
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Every game has rules—just like the grown-up world. Children’s games are a rehearsal for social interactions.
