Many experts believe the adult personality is built upon the child's play. According to Playing for Keeps (www.playingforkeeps.org), all of the skills children need to develop into functioning, productive adults originate from play. These skills include literacy, mathematical reasoning, creativity and the above-mentioned social skills.

Additionally, free play enables children to deal with stress and to cope with fears they can't yet understand or express. Today's young children are exposed to so much so early and must cope with more stress than their predecessors ever did. Free play gives them a necessary emotional release and helps them make sense of everything they're experiencing. And as Playing for Keeps points out, when young children act out emotion-laden scenes in their play, such as reassuring a doll that mommy will return, they learn to cope with fears and gain the self-control that will bring them to the next state of development.

Writing in Education Week, master teacher Sheila Flaxman states that today's young children are controlled by the "expectations, whims and rules of adults. Play is the only time they can take control of their world." Surely we can see the value in these many benefits – that these abilities will serve our children better than the ability to score soccer goals!

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