Article: Play Doesn’t Go On A Resume — But Maybe It Should

 

By Melissa Bernstein, HuffPost Contributor

The phrase “Play doesn’t go on a resume” — and the profound impact that has had on childhood — has been plaguing me since I had the honor of sitting on a panel with Dr. Peter Gray and a group of esteemed childhood development experts as we discussed the results of a new study on parents’ perspectives on play.

How different would childhood be today if child-led play were valued in the same way as organized sports, academics, and other extracurricular, adult-led activities?

Imagine a resume where under “Skills,” you might find “Ability to think outside of the box as evidenced by transformation of simple cardboard structure into any number of adventure-ready vehicles” or “Demonstrated strong negotiation tactics while collaborating with 6-year-old colleagues on the rules to Duck, Duck, Swoosh, an original twist on a classic game.”

While of course I’m being a bit dramatic, the truth is play DOES develop the very skills every parent should want for their child. Unfortunately, play has an inherent problem in that its benefits can’t be measured with a score, rank, or number. We need to do the hard work of convincing society that giving our children more downtime to follow their own curiosities and interests and explore the world is perhaps the greatest gift we can give them — one that will last a lifetime.

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This article was originally published on HuffPost.com

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