The Benefits of Play

While the benefits of play are innumerable and help children to develop cognitively, physically, socially, and emotionally, there is more to play than fun and games.

Cognitive: Play promotes healthy development and critical thinking skills. It reinforces memory, helps children understand cause and effect, and helps children explore the world— and their role in it. Young children learn how things fit together through play. It allows them to use their senses and encourages exploration and curiosity—skills that are the foundation of intellectual development and cognitive processing. Play also inspires children to pretend, create, and imagine. Creative, open-ended play helps children conceptualize, brainstorm, and exercise critical thinking skills.

Physical: Physically, play benefits children in a few ways, namely in the development of their fine and gross motor skills. Play benefits motor development by encouraging movement and the understanding of spatial relations, promoting motor planning skills, and supporting balance and dexterity. It also supports gross motor skills, such as energy, stamina, flexibility, and body awareness. Examples of physical play include running, jumping, swimming, block building, dancing, riding bikes, and climbing trees.

Social: Play is important for social development because it helps children learn how to interact with others. Through play, children develop an understanding of social expectations and rules, and play provides opportunities to share thoughts and ideas, to listen, and to compromise.

Emotional: Play helps children understand and process their emotions. When a child loses a game, for example, they learn to process sadness, anger, and grief. Playing also helps build confidence and encourages the development of their identity and self-esteem.

The dam burst on an ordinary Tuesday morning. I hadn’t even known this dam existed and what I was protecting myself from. But in that room on that day, the ever-rising well of emotions came gushing forth with startling intensity.

I was shocked by my own words. I mean, this was me, happy-go-lucky Fradel.

And I was fine.

Actually, I was much more than fine—I was strong.

Strong enough to be a devoted teacher of special needs children, a mother of two delicious toddlers, wife to a husband in kollel, a friend, sister, and daughter… even with my colitis hovering in the background.

I hadn’t come to Shifra to deal with my colitis; my condition never registered as higher than a two on the stress barometer. It was something completely unrelated to my medical condition that brought me to therapy to begin with. But when I nonchalantly mentioned that I was taking a new medication to settle the inflamma-

Her warm brown eyes locked with mine as she asked, “Fradel, you never told me you have colitis. What’s it like to live with this condition?”

Talk about a punch in the gut.

Without prior warning, tidal waves of pain rose to the surface.

“It’s not easy. Sometimes I feel so weak, I can hardly move. But do I have a choice? Dovid needs supper and Miriam is so exhausted, she needs to be put to bed, so I just keep plodding on. And when they are finally in bed, all I can do is collapse onto the couch.”

But now, in that space, I did have the moment to give my life circumstances some thought. With that, I found myself sobbing, the tears rushing down my cheeks and onto my lap.

“It’s okay, Fradel,” Shifra said softly. “It’s good to cry.”

Reaching for a tissue, I went on, “And then, many nights, when the house is finally quiet and I wish I could curl up with a good book or make a phone call,