In our most recent trip to the park we begun to realize that the way kids play has changed immensely, we couldn’t even find one group of kids playing the way we used to. Of course time changes things, but it is not just that: Unstructured, messy, chaotic, free play as we knew it is completely disappearing from our kids lives.
We decided to do some web searches to find out if this was a widely spread perception and found ourselves overwhelmed with the amount of information and investigation around this issue.
This American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) report digs deep into the matter and explains:
It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. […]