Playing has a pivotal role in the lives of children and adults. There has been significant research on how play influences the lives of the people. This paper focus on the importance of playing, a reflection of a two-hour activity, and response to “Play is more than fun” and “the creativity crisis.”
In most cases, rarely would adults go out to play regularly except for occasional times in what most people call entertainment. I was not aware that play, however, simple it may be, has effects on the emotions and the overall health of an individual significantly. Play enhances one’s physical development such as increasing the tolerance levels of the body. For instance, if one runs on a daily basis, the body becomes hardened such that one can tolerate extreme workout either in jobs or other activities.
Further, the play makes one relaxed. When one feels tensed or stressed, one can engage in play alone or with coworkers (Brown, 2008). In the process, one’s energy renews making one feel better. Besides, when one engages in play others, he or she gets to know their feelings better increasing the bond between them. In cooperatives, managers use play in teambuilding to ease tensions that exist among workers. As a result of the play, the workers collaborate well leading to an increase in productivity.
Further, play increase individuals creativity. Bronson and Merryman (2010) opined that play enhances the creativity of people by activating the right side of the brain such that it works in tandem with the left hemispheres. As a consequence, the person can make connections from previously unrelated issues leading to original ideas (Isenberg and Jalongo, 2014).
It follows that if workers engage in play at work, they may result in the creation of new ideas that would solve most of the pressing problems the companies face. In a nutshell, play affects the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive well-being of the children (Milteer and Ginsburg, 2012). The same effect extends to adults because creativity, emotional development, and body strength are not a preserve of the children.
Reflection on my play activity
During my two-hour session of the game, I decided to do engage in different activities with my friend on a Friday afternoon. Before the play, I felt dull and without energy. I suggested that we play music for thirty minutes as we dance. After that, we can play cards for another half an hour and spend the extra one-hour hiking in the fields.
When we began playing music, we danced for thirty minutes. The music made me felt better and relaxed. At least, I stopped feeling dull. I started feeling excited as we danced. After getting tired of dancing for thirty minutes, we began playing cards to cool off the body. It was fun as the music continued playing. Time seemed to pass very quickly as opposed to when I do not engage in play activities.
After playing the cards, we had relaxed enough. We changed to track suits and went out to hike in the neighborhood. It was surprising that other friends joined us in the walk without prompting them to join us. The playful mood that we exhibited attracted them along the way. At the end of the hour, we were hiking in a group of five, and we ended up exceeding the one-hour limit we had set.
After the play activities, I was quite tired but in a joyful mood. My body was very relaxed that evening. My appetite was quite high, and my siblings also noted my jovial mood. It was evident that my play activities that were a departure from my routine. I did not even want to play video games that night but read a book and went to bed early.
Response to “The Creativity Crisis.”
Three things stood out in the article. Torrance’s experiment proved that childhood activity or creativity can influence the career paths of the people in their adulthood. From this perspective, it follows that the exposure one has in their childhood may determine how they would develop cognitively. It is paramount to acknowledge that play has a significant role in the life of children, and therefore, children needs a creative environment other than the overuse of video games and television that limit creativity.
Further, the authors noted that creativity is the first “leadership competency” of the future. Fundamentally, the world is experiencing more complicated problems than before. There are more and more challenges in the economy, wars, and conflicts that need original ideas to solve them. Many attempts to address these problems yields little success since the problems evolve. Therefore, there is a need for more new ideas to strengthen the existing theories and practical activities to mitigate the social and cultural problems.
Lastly, it also emerged that the American education system has no enough room for creativity. In a majority of the schools, the tutors have assigned time for art classes with the presumption that is what entails creativity. However, creativity extends beyond art classes to everything else the children do. Besides, life outside the school does not involve artwork alone. Other activities such music, solving problems such as is the noise reduction case in the article is what people meet daily.
When the children get enough time and a permissive environment, they would understand most of the abstract ideas taught in science and math practically. Besides, the children would be in a position to engage with each other objectively and, as a result, develop competencies in team building and collaboration.
Response to “Play is more than fun.”
Brown noted that in the contemporary society, play concerns children more than adults. However, he contended that in the ancient times, adults placed a significant importance to play. It is important to note that such assertion may not be right because although the emphasis is on children play, adults play in different ways and for various reasons. Adult play to keep fit, improve their body strength, and also enhance collaboration in workplaces.
Brown also emphasized on the characteristics of play. Mainly, he stated that play involves curiosity and exploration that leads to creative ideas. Without curiosity and exploration, there would be no creation of new ideas, and therefore, it is essential that parents allow children to explore other than memorizing and replicating previous ideas.
Lastly, Brown (2008) contended that play does a lot to the brain, but there is no concrete evidence on the extent to which that may go. He lamented that funds were difficult to come by for research on how play affects the brain. It follows that since playing has an importance social and economic importance, there is a need to increase funds for research on the effects of play on the body and the brain.
I can utilize the knowledge gained from experience by ensuring that I play regularly and move out of the comfort zone by exploring new paths and ventures. For instances, I would have to read widely on problems affecting my community and try to find solutions, and present them to the authorities for implementation.
References
Brown S. (2008). Play is more that Fun. Retrieved on January 25, 2016 from https://www.ted.com/speakers/stuart_brown
Merryman A. and Bronson P. (2010). The Creativity Crisis. News Week 07-10-2010. Retrieved on January 25, 2016 from http://europe.newsweek.com/creativity-crisis-74665?rm=eu
Milteer R. M. add Ginsburg R. k. (2012). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bond: Focus on Children in Poverty. January 2012, Vol. 129Isues 1. Retrieved on January 25, 2016 from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/129/1/e204
