Please read this article!! It may make a significant impact on how you structure your child’s time. And how they spend their time has a profound impact on their future success.
On Friday morning, NPR aired a program entitled “Old-Fashioned Play Builds Serious Skills” in which the over commercialization and regulation of play and the impact this has had on the development of children. Of particular concern was the decrease in children’s ability to self-regulate. “Sad because self-regulation is incredibly important… In fact, good executive function is a better predictor of success in school than a child’s IQ. Children who are able to manage their feelings and pay attention are better able to learn.”
The article notes that children today spend a lot of time watching television, playing video games and taking lessons, none of which help them develop self-regulatory skills. (Note: Children with sensory processing difficulties often have poor self-regulatory skills. They need extra help to improve sensory processing to build a foundation for the development of self-regulation skills.) Recommended alternatives in the article included: complex imaginative play and activities that require planning. Familiar activities at Emerge. We have a strong commitment to the concepts of Floortime when working with children. Therapy activities are often based in play, often imaginative. Children with specific developmental challenges, such as dyspraxia,
poor sensory modulation, or autism spectrum typically need support from
therapists, parents, and teachers to develop their play skills. As children become older and more skilled, we invite them to become active designers of their therapy session. The art of therapy is in providing the environment, support, and subtle direction so that the child makes adaptive changes towards mastery of of themselves and their environment.