SINGAPORE: “I’m going for a robotics camp this week,” declared Justin, my 9-year-old neighbour when I asked him where he was off to one morning at the start of the June holidays.
“I’ve signed him up for all sorts of camps and lessons - swimming, drums, art - to keep him occupied. Otherwise, I don’t know what to do with him in between the tuition classes,” shared his mum, Gillian.
I wanted to ask her if Justin had time to play, rest and relax over the June holidays, but decided to hold my tongue.
We know that many Singapore children are overscheduled during term time with school, tuition, co-curricular activities and enrichment lessons. These schedules seem to continue into their school holidays as well.
Well-meaning parents may think that enrolling their children in these activities will allow them to learn important skills and remain competitive in today’s fast-paced world. While each activity or lesson can enrich a child's life, taken in total, they may do more harm than good.
Structured activities are usually focused on outcomes. They tend to be didactic in nature, leaving little room for child agency and decision-making. Researchers from the University of Colorado reported that more time spent in structured activities resulted in poorer self-direction and executive functions for the 6- to 7-year-old children in their study.
Executive functions include the ability to plan, achieve goals, and practise self-regulation and flexible thinking required in problem-solving. Ironically, these are the very skills that parents hope their children will acquire when they sign their children up for structured activities.
Parents may respond “But my child enjoys these activities.” Do they really? Any new experience can be exciting in the first day or so, but would they rather run freely in the field, dig in the sand, build a tall tower or play silly games with mum and dad, than attend days of classes on end?
There is much to be said for the benefits of unstructured, free play with no “purpose”. In his seminal work, The Playful Brain, Dr Sergio Pellis shares his research that the neuron connections at the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s executive control centre, changes during play.
For healthy brain development, he recommends children play on their own terms, with rules they create and negotiate, ideas they can test, and mistakes they can reflect on and learn from. Children should play not for any outcome or purpose but for the joy of experiencing freedom to be and discover themselves.
Free play is essential to a child’s mental and emotional well-being. Studies have shown that having downtime helps regulate the child’s nervous system, so they are better able to adapt to the environment, stress and life’s challenges.
In fact, it is okay to allow children time to be bored, as boredom stimulates creativity and imagination. It is during these times that children explore their inner worlds and find their inner voice.
As adults, we should invite them to reflect on what their interests are and follow their curiosity. Children can develop self-reliance by making a list of things to do in the holidays and plan for them.
Adults can also suggest downtime activities like listening to music, reading a book, blowing bubbles or quiet time with yoga poses. Activities suitable for younger children could include looking for bugs outdoors, seeing patterns in the clouds or using recycled boxes to build a fort or anything they fancy.
Activities like colouring, drawing, Lego construction, and Play-Doh, water and sand play are ideal for children to explore without adult direction, but with some supervision depending on the age of the child.
Children can spend hours creating, building and coming up with stories with these open-ended materials. An encouraging word or a question to show interest in what the children are doing is sufficient to keep them playing independently with the adult nearby doing chores or work.
The June break is a good time for parents to spend quality time with their children, to get to know their interests as well as who they are and who they are becoming.
Renowned child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfield recommends that parents do things with their children whose only purpose is the joy of each other’s company, what he calls being unproductive together. This signals to the child that he or she is loved unconditionally and appreciated for who he or she is.
Sending children to many enrichment classes may result in an unintended subliminal message to them that they are not good enough, which may affect their self-esteem in the long run. Children may also feel a sense of neglect that their parents would rather have them attend a string of classes than spend time with them during the holidays.
We want the best for our children and for them to become well-adjusted, resilient, creative and thriving adults. Let us give them permission, time, space, and freedom to play.
As for my neighbour Justin, I recently saw him having a good time playing in the sand with other kids at a playground, with his mother seated in the shade nearby on her laptop. That brought a smile to my face.
Dr Cynthia Lim is Head of the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Continue reading...
“I’ve signed him up for all sorts of camps and lessons - swimming, drums, art - to keep him occupied. Otherwise, I don’t know what to do with him in between the tuition classes,” shared his mum, Gillian.
I wanted to ask her if Justin had time to play, rest and relax over the June holidays, but decided to hold my tongue.
We know that many Singapore children are overscheduled during term time with school, tuition, co-curricular activities and enrichment lessons. These schedules seem to continue into their school holidays as well.
Well-meaning parents may think that enrolling their children in these activities will allow them to learn important skills and remain competitive in today’s fast-paced world. While each activity or lesson can enrich a child's life, taken in total, they may do more harm than good.
THE DOWNSIDE OF STRUCTURED ACTIVITIES
Structured activities are usually focused on outcomes. They tend to be didactic in nature, leaving little room for child agency and decision-making. Researchers from the University of Colorado reported that more time spent in structured activities resulted in poorer self-direction and executive functions for the 6- to 7-year-old children in their study.
Executive functions include the ability to plan, achieve goals, and practise self-regulation and flexible thinking required in problem-solving. Ironically, these are the very skills that parents hope their children will acquire when they sign their children up for structured activities.
Parents may respond “But my child enjoys these activities.” Do they really? Any new experience can be exciting in the first day or so, but would they rather run freely in the field, dig in the sand, build a tall tower or play silly games with mum and dad, than attend days of classes on end?
There is much to be said for the benefits of unstructured, free play with no “purpose”. In his seminal work, The Playful Brain, Dr Sergio Pellis shares his research that the neuron connections at the prefrontal cortex, the brain’s executive control centre, changes during play.
For healthy brain development, he recommends children play on their own terms, with rules they create and negotiate, ideas they can test, and mistakes they can reflect on and learn from. Children should play not for any outcome or purpose but for the joy of experiencing freedom to be and discover themselves.
Related:
ALLOW CHILDREN TO PLAY FREELY
Free play is essential to a child’s mental and emotional well-being. Studies have shown that having downtime helps regulate the child’s nervous system, so they are better able to adapt to the environment, stress and life’s challenges.
In fact, it is okay to allow children time to be bored, as boredom stimulates creativity and imagination. It is during these times that children explore their inner worlds and find their inner voice.
As adults, we should invite them to reflect on what their interests are and follow their curiosity. Children can develop self-reliance by making a list of things to do in the holidays and plan for them.
Adults can also suggest downtime activities like listening to music, reading a book, blowing bubbles or quiet time with yoga poses. Activities suitable for younger children could include looking for bugs outdoors, seeing patterns in the clouds or using recycled boxes to build a fort or anything they fancy.
Activities like colouring, drawing, Lego construction, and Play-Doh, water and sand play are ideal for children to explore without adult direction, but with some supervision depending on the age of the child.
Children can spend hours creating, building and coming up with stories with these open-ended materials. An encouraging word or a question to show interest in what the children are doing is sufficient to keep them playing independently with the adult nearby doing chores or work.
Related:
BEING UNPRODUCTIVE TOGETHER
The June break is a good time for parents to spend quality time with their children, to get to know their interests as well as who they are and who they are becoming.
Renowned child psychiatrist Alvin Rosenfield recommends that parents do things with their children whose only purpose is the joy of each other’s company, what he calls being unproductive together. This signals to the child that he or she is loved unconditionally and appreciated for who he or she is.
Sending children to many enrichment classes may result in an unintended subliminal message to them that they are not good enough, which may affect their self-esteem in the long run. Children may also feel a sense of neglect that their parents would rather have them attend a string of classes than spend time with them during the holidays.
We want the best for our children and for them to become well-adjusted, resilient, creative and thriving adults. Let us give them permission, time, space, and freedom to play.
As for my neighbour Justin, I recently saw him having a good time playing in the sand with other kids at a playground, with his mother seated in the shade nearby on her laptop. That brought a smile to my face.
Dr Cynthia Lim is Head of the Bachelor of Early Childhood Education programme at the Singapore University of Social Sciences.
Continue reading...