What underlies the increased ability of children, at about age four, to behave safely and independently? Part of the answer, of course, has simply to do with increased knowledge. If caregivers have done their job properly and allowed children to explore and behave in moderately risky ways in the caregivers’ presence during earlier years,…
ONE of the first and most often reinforced lessons children learn in school is that work and play are opposites. Work is what one must do; play is what one wants to do. Work is burdensome; play is fun. Work is essential; play is trivial. But when we leave school and go on to the "real world," at least some of us, …
IN OUR EVERYDAY LANGUAGE we do not sufficiently distinguish between play and contest. We put our children into contests, and we call them play. We think we are providing children with an opportunity to play when we are not. ... ... In nonhuman animals, the distinction between play and contest is clear, but in us h…
