Is Play Essential for Social Development?

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Does play matter for social development? If so, why? Play is a means by which children acquire the social skills and social knowledge needed to develop into fully functional, social beings (Feng, 1987). Therefore, it can be argued that play is critical for becoming socially adept, and matters greatly for social development. Whilst this may appear to be a broad statement, the work of psychiatrist Stuart Brown (1969) supports such a claim. Brown (1969) investigated the case of Charles Whitman, who murdered sixteen people in a shooting rampage. How is it that a seemingly well adjusted individual comes to commit such a crime? The answer, according to Brown (1969), arises from the fact that Whitman had been raised in an environment in which the opportunity for play had been suppressed. Consequently, Whitman did not acquire the social skills needed to cope in the real world, or the depth of imagination to allow normal social interaction to be possible. This case, though extreme, suggests play has a significant effect on social development, and that if absent in childhood, can lead to disastrous consequences. As well as providing children with the social skills needed to function in their adult life, play has a series of other positive effects on social development, the prime being: learning to cooperate with others, and teaching children the concept of roles in society. These effects will both be discussed in due course. The suggestion that children who do not engage in play will suffer with regards to their social development, in that they will become withdrawn and passive, will also be drawn upon. The argument that play has a dark side and can hinder social development (Sutton-Smith, 1997) will also be discussed. There will be evidence provided, however, to illustrate that the benefits of play outweigh the costs for social development, and that play
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