Play Author Stuart Brown: Why Playtime Matters to Kids' Health and Brains

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play time is a good sorce for exercise

cj of MI 1:15PM December 04, 2009

play time is a good sorce for exercise

cj of MI 1:15PM December 04, 2009

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Aboutihptp of IA 9:09PM July 02, 2009

I am foreigner, an immigrant. I came from a different school system, the system here terrifies me. I cannot understand why my 4 year old started to learn mathematics, or why she will need to learn subtraction or addition or reading, before she reaches 1st grade.
I played a lot when I was a kid, that was what we all did. I did not learn letters until 1st grade. It took me 2 days to learn my alphabet. I learned addition and subtraction later in 1st grade in my later age 6. I learned multiplication at grade 3! But by the end of the 5th grade, I and my friends mastered mathematics problems the Americans are struggling to solve in Middle school. We learned college grade calculus in High school--still no problems. I have a Psy dgree with honors, also had an MBA. I had a very successfull academic life, I have been always the "geek". I have always went to the schools for the intelligent kids.......
My country banned homework when I was in High school. That was when my intellectual ability soared. I had an MBA here, ridicilous amount of homework.....for responsible adults!
I have put significant thought into why there is soo much homework here??? It seems like many teachers are inable or incapable of teaching at school. Their right to discipline a child is taken away. Probably most of them go to school as victims of their students......so they cannot teach. They cover up for that by giving excessive amounts of homework. They cannot teach, so they expect the kids to teach themselves. Why do we need schools then?? To find a date, to enter a team, to have somewhere to go while parents are at work??
Forcing kids too soon and too much for basic academics will destroy their mind. Now they wonder why primary schoolers are on depression nowadays......Americans need to stop the obsession that earlier or sooner is better.
I just cannot believe, how a country like USA can give so much harm to its young children, to its future. Maybe this is how US will collapse, by frying the brains of its future, so there will be no sane Americans left to hold up and carry their country........It is a pity......

Frustrated mom in NC of NC 12:00AM April 10, 2009

From the time my daughter was very young she'd come home and, in god weather anyway, select (on her own) junk play clothes from a special box of rag-tag shorts, shirts, then go outside to get dirty and exhausted. She still recalls those times.
Sometimes, for instance, she'd wear striped red shorts with a flowered pink top. It was her choice. The point was to make a pronounced shift from kindergarten time to raising heck.
Now she's all grown up and a fashion plate.
Today computers and fear of predators seem to keep kids indoors far too much of the time and it's really a darn shame.

Betsy of RI 7:29PM March 13, 2009

Instead of more tips for getting the huge amounts of homework done, let's ask why the homework is assigned in the first place. Homework in elementary school has no positive effects. Set a time limit for how much homework your child will do and inform his/her teacher of your decision. Then take your kid to the park!

FedUpMom of PA 8:25AM March 12, 2009

I found that my 9 year old daughter was so stressed out after school, that I started taking her to a nearby park every day after school, weather permitting. We go on a walk and spend about 30 minutes just playing. When she is done, she is much more receptive to going home and doing her homework. It gives her a chance to unwind and just be a kid. Even though it gets us home a little later, it has been the most successful and rewarding thing I have instituted as a parent.

Anita of NC 10:46AM March 10, 2009

I found that my 9 year old daughter was so stressed out after school, that I started taking her to a nearby park every day after school, weather permitting. We go on a walk and spend about 30 minutes just playing. When she is done, she is much more receptive to going home and doing her homework. It gives her a chance to unwind and just be a kid. Even though it gets us home a little later, it has been the most successful and rewarding thing I have instituted as a parent.

Anita of NC 10:45AM March 10, 2009

I believe this article is very interesting because this professional psychiatrist is talking about a subject as simple as playing and how it can affect not only the children’s performances in school, but also adults' behavior and decision making of their actions. In my opinion I totally agree with this psychiatrist. I think that this could be a good reason of why people become criminals and affects their way of thinking. In addition I also believe that lack of playing or exercising can affect our health. For example, Obesity now represents one of the most pressing nutritional problems facing children in The United States today. Like Doctor Carmel Valley said PE should be infused more in everyone’s daily routine like they used to many years ago or parents shouldn’t prohibit their kids to play thinking that is an irresponsible thing to do. In my opinion, I think that this health problem is so critical in the United States because PE is only required for two years of high school, for about three hours per week. However in other countries like my own, PE is required throughout pre-school, middle school and high school five hours per week. In conclusion there should be more playing or exercising in the life of the Americans, so the rate of criminals and obesity decreases more every day.

Johana of FL 10:16PM March 09, 2009

Stuart's work is fascinating, but most of us parents already agree intuitively with his basic idea that play is important to kids' lives. We need a way to make play happen for our kids in our neighborhoods. That's what we're trying to do at Playborhood.com (http://playborhood.com).

Mike Lanza of CA 4:38PM March 09, 2009