Children today are suffering a deficit of play
Children today face reduced opportunities for free play, linked to rising mental health issues. Increased academic pressures replace unstructured play, essential for developing social skills, empathy, and problem-solving abilities.
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Children today are experiencing a significant reduction in opportunities for free play, which has been linked to rising mental health issues such as anxiety, depression, and increased rates of suicide among youth. Over the past several decades, societal changes have led to a decline in unstructured playtime, as adult-directed activities and increased academic pressures have taken precedence. This shift has resulted in children having less time to engage in self-directed exploration and social interaction, which are crucial for developing essential life skills. Research indicates that play is not merely a break from learning but a vital component of it, allowing children to practice social skills, empathy, and problem-solving. The author argues that the decline in play correlates with a rise in narcissism and a decrease in empathy among children, suggesting that the structured environments of schools do not foster the cooperative skills that play naturally develops. The author advocates for a reevaluation of educational priorities, emphasizing the need for children to have more time for free play to support their overall development and well-being.
- Children today have fewer opportunities for unstructured play, impacting their mental health.
- Increased academic pressures and adult-directed activities have replaced free play.
- Play is essential for developing social skills, empathy, and problem-solving abilities.
- The decline in play correlates with rising narcissism and decreasing empathy among youth.
- Advocates call for educational reforms to prioritize free play in children's lives.
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- Many commenters note the historical context, suggesting that the situation has worsened since the article's publication in 2013.
- Concerns about safety and societal changes, such as increased traffic and "helicopter parenting," are frequently mentioned as barriers to outdoor play.
- Some parents advocate for unsupervised play, sharing positive experiences of their children engaging with peers.
- There is a discussion about the role of technology in children's play, questioning whether it can fulfill the same developmental needs as traditional play.
- Several commenters express a desire for community and neighborhood designs that facilitate safer play environments for children.
10 commentsI’m lucky enough to live on a street with a few families with similar age children, and it’s such a difference in enjoyment levels when all the kids are able to get together and play compared to just one or two.
I wonder if we’ll see a rise in popularity of co-op type groups for families with similar mindsets to get together for adult-free play.
A bunch of more recent related essays/articles and discussion about this:
Balancing Outdoor Risky Play and Injury Prevention in Childhood Development
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=39139540
Children, left behind by suburbia, need better community design
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=38370203
Children Need Neighborhoods Where They Can Walk and Bike
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=40095217
What adults lost when kids stopped playing in the street
There's also been a lot of discussion on the internet about the loss of "third places" in society and I wonder how that has played a role in accelerating the loss of play in the youth of today.
The nanny state criminalized this. The consequences? Kids just stay inside more? Less socialization? But also canada being a great at hockey has long slipped away.
Last time Canada won the stanley cup was 1993.
100% of the blame for social crisis and this play deficit is the nanny state.
there's a lot of undirected activity that wouldn't count because they're just passive consumers, but surely some of it could count as a way of exercising creative impulses and learning various social norms (even though those are online norms and not real-life norms)?
The Play Deficit (2013) - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9730870 - June 2015 (1 comment)
The five year old is in a wheelchair but her sister puts her in the buggy stroller with rollbars (made sense to buy the nice one since she’ll need it essentially indefinitely) and she’ll hang out too. She used to have some severe health problems that kept her at home but just because she can’t walk doesn’t keep her from getting out of the house for some unsupervised play. It’s not that hard, I live in one of the safest places in the entire world, it’ll be fine. It’s funny because when I lived in the really bad part of town there were even MORE kids walking around aimlessly outside than there are in the nice part of town.
We also aggressively restrict screen time and have a lot of board games, stuff for the kids to do, which really helps.
Today my daughter had a whole conflict with the neighborhood bullies after her friend called them frogheads. They yelled back, and my daughter flipped them off. I wouldn’t admit it to their parents but I’m a little proud, haha. Those kids are jerks.
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