Even though members of the youngest generation have objects and opportunities their grandparents could not have even imagined, it’s not easy being a child of the 21st century. While they may own an iPad or an X-Box, they often don’t have the chance to indulge in old-fashioned play with other children.
As The National reported yesterday, new courses at the Emirates College for Advanced Education will teach kindergarten teachers how play forms an important part of early childhood education. American expert Dr Francis Wardle notes that play helps children develop critical-thinking skills.
Educators make a distinction between structured play, where teachers take the lead, and unstructured play, driven by the children’s own imaginations. It’s this latter category that can be a challenge in the UAE, where many children grow up in sterile apartment buildings, without playmates of their own age or open spaces in which to run wild.
The authorities are doing their bit, by providing play areas and community centres in new housing developments, but the onus should also be on parents to encourage their offspring to exercise both their minds and their bodies, and enjoy their childhood while they can.