PLAY 



4705 



PLAY 



LAY. The word play has a number of 

 meanings, each depending upon the way in 

 which it is used. We speak of playing games, 

 of playing on a musical instrument and of a dra- 

 matic composition as a play. When applied to 

 machinery play means freedom of movement, 

 or operation without friction. This article is 

 : icted to discussing the play of children. 

 Used in this sense play means action without 

 special aim, or for amusement. 



Play is regarded from various viewpoints, 

 each radically different from the others. Among 

 them, the four theories accorded the widest 

 acceptance are these : 



1. Play Is the result of surplus energy of mind 

 and b^d'y. typical of healthy childhood. 



2. Active physical exercise is necessary for 

 growing: bodies : taken in moderation it reacts 

 favorably on the mind. In childhood this exer- 

 cise is obtained through play. 



3. Play affords the means for the development 

 and direction of man's many complicated in- 



its which are undeveloped. 



the medium by means of which the 

 ibitual activities of our ancestors are trans- 

 ited to us. 



Necessity of Play. Doubtless there is more 

 leas truth in all these theories, but the aver- 

 adult considers play as a means of recrea- 

 The business man plays golf to give him 

 physical exercise and to get his mind 

 *y from the cares of his office. If he sees his 

 son and several other children playing 

 hide and seek he thinks they are doing it 

 recreation, too, thus attributing to the 

 Id the same motives for play as lead him to 

 recreation on the golf links. A moment's 

 if will convince us that this position is 

 correct. The child does not play because 

 is weary and needs diversion, neither is he 

 engaged in the game of hide and seek for the 

 exercise derived from it. He plays merely for 

 the sake of playing. He has no other purpose, 

 is responding to an instinct that is vital 



to his full development. "Play is not a luxury, 

 but a necessity; it is the serious business of a 

 child's life ; indeed, for young children it is life 

 itself!" This statement from an eminent au- 

 thority leads us to consider what play does for 

 the child. 



Play is a Means of Sclf-Expression. The 

 child may learn facts by having them repeated 

 to him by others, but it is only through self- 

 activity that he develops his powers, and the 

 greater the freedom in early years the more 

 complete the development. 



Play Trains the Child in Decision, In nearly 

 all games the child is confronted with the neces- 

 sity of making instant decisions and in acting 

 upon them. No occupation in which he can en- 

 gage in his early years will give him this train- 

 ing so fully as will play. 



Play Teaches the Child Self -Confidence. In 

 his games the child must rely upon himself; in 

 his work he may call upon others for guidance. 

 The game calls for instant personal decision. 

 If the child wishes to emulate his playmates he 

 must act upon his own decisions, and continual 

 practice in so doing develops independence. 



Play is Necessary to Health. Health and 

 endurance depend largely upon the full de- 

 velopment of the heart and lungs ; nothing else 

 contributes so much towards securing this result 

 in children as vigorous play in the open air. 



Play Trains in Cooperation and Loyalty. 

 Many games require team work, and success 

 depends upon loyalty to the organization and 

 obedience to the commands of the leader. 



Play is Democracy. On the playground na- 

 ability is recognized, and all children are 

 a an equal chance. "We may say that the 

 playground is the true melting pot of the va- 

 rious races coming together in the American 

 nation " 



Relation of Parents and Teachers to Play. 

 Play begins in the home, and the wise mother 



