 |
| "Cousin Reginald Play Pirate" (1917) by Norman Rockwell. |
Looking back on your own childhood would you say that imaginative, story-like fantasies were the "best thing in life" for you or would you say that for you the best play was the physical activity/sensation kind?
Consider this: is it useful to differentiate between the two different kinds of play when describing a particular child's personality? Are there other character traits that might align with the children who gravitate towards one kind of play or the other?
I can remember a time when my every iota longed for the playground. My childhood best friend was BreeAnna Biggs. One day, a game was formulated by our kindergarten minds that involved both imaginative and physical play. In it, we pretended to be swift cheetahs on the prowl for anything and everything we could devour. To the dismay of our classmates, it was usually at their expense. BreeAnna and I seized every opportunity to chase them endlessly around the playground and ferociously roar in their small and defenseless faces. As children, we didn't care about the "imaginative" and "physical" labels of play or what they revealed about our personalities and thought processes. However, in hindsight I realize that these labels can reveal to adults almost as much as young imaginations can reveal to children. At play, a child feels comfortable and ready to lower all guards, including those which identify their personality. For example, the predominately imaginative type of play that BreeAnna and I were so enamored with revealed our thoughtfulness and potentially introverted characteristics. On the other hand, the children that we chased from the swing sets and monkey bars may have more enjoyed social interaction and carefree play.
ReplyDeleteThe imaginative stories. That had to be the best part of play as a child. For me, I didn't care if I was running around on a playground pretending to be part of some special ninja force (yes that happened), or if I was tucked in a small corner playing with Barbies. I didn't care if I was with large group of friends, or by myself, I would create stories. I didn't ever think of the fact that there were two types of play. I don't really think the two separate labels should even be there. I think children don't really realize what their limits are at that age, and so they are more likely to participate in physical play because they don't have boundaries. This is their mind exploring far beyond the physical world into that fantasy world where their endless stories exist. They don't worry about being tired or the fact that they can't actually jump 30 ft. in the air, they just do. I believe it's all basically imaginative play, it's just as adults we can't understand the extent of their imagination anymore, and associate it with other things.
ReplyDeleteImaginative! However, having two younger brothers my imaginative stories were often coupled with the physical activity stories as well. We would play anything from princess and knight (my youngest brother being the evil dragon, my other brother being the knight, and me being the princess who sometimes sat in her tower and sometimes fought along with him) to "house" with my baby dolls. We made pillow and blanket forts, which could double as a fortress or a cozy log cabin.
ReplyDeleteOther times, when it was just me, I would play with my paper dolls or my American girl doll. I would dress up and pretend to be a princess or Laura Ingalls. Sometimes I was a poor mother struggling to survive and other times I was the rich wife of an "awesome" guy (I have no idea what he did, but he was awesome, guys). I remember one time I even flopped around the floor of our living room with a pink blanket tied to my head; I was the Little Mermaid.
I would have to agree with Miranda; I do not believe children need or make the distinction between the types of play. They weave the two together depending on what their interests are at the time. Perhaps a distinction could help teachers who have a class which predominately plays in one type or the other. However, I think in general children use both types of play.
My mind was overflowing with imaginative stories when I was a child; however, those stories always led to physical activity. My absolute favorite "game" was Vantasia (closely related to Fantasia, I believe). In it, my cousin and I were the heroines. To enter, pixy dust was sprinkled about the room and a portal would open, but we had to leap through it quickly before it shut (this usually meant jumping from the bed to the floor). Like other girls, I played with Barbies and I also owned a massive collection of horses. These toys were my companions. Together, we visited and explored places far away. I agree with both Miranda and Darby. Children probably make no distinction between the two types of play. They are simply having fun, so I highly doubt the thought of exactly "how" they are playing ever crosses their minds.
ReplyDeleteIn my childhood, there was no mindless play. Sometimes I’d be stranded at sea and strive to keep my boat (bed) afloat and all my companions (stuffed animals) from drowning. A friend and I would take turns being Link and Zelda on her swing set, systematically climbing over obstacles in order to save the princess. On the school playground, we would alternate between being spiders and flies on a web-like structure, and sometimes we would be moles in the little tunnels under the slides. There was never a time that my friends and I were not pretending. Even when we were on swing sets or playgrounds, there was still a story to be told.
ReplyDeleteFrom reading other comments, I doubt I was a special case. Children likely don’t differentiate between physical and fantastical play or gravitate toward one or the other. Rather, they meld the two together and work with what they have to play, be it a massive jungle gym or a barren backyard. If a distinction between the two types must be made, I think something could be said of the fact that every single commenter here favors imaginative play.
When I was a kid, I always had a story to go with whatever I was doing, whether it was going down a slide or just spinning in circles (more fun than it sounds). My constant companion was a blue stuffed horse called Lisa. Thinking back, that horse was pretty amazing. She could fly, breathe underwater, and survive any explosion. On the playground, the swings became vines that I would use to swing through the jungle. The merry-go-round was a ship caught in a maelstrom, never to escape. Throughout recess, I never thought "Boy! It feels so great to experience my muscles moving!" The playground was not just a place to exercise; it was an entirely different world.
ReplyDeleteI do not believe that there is a single child who delights in only the physical side of play. Did you ever run around in circles just for the physical experience? I think not. I have never known a child that has no imagination at all. My own experiences with imagination and the above comments lead me to believe that imaginative play has a distinct predominance over physical play.
As a child that moved schools roughly every other year, my friends were sparse and infrequent. I would spend years on my own, my mother and my imagination being my only companions. Looking back on it, I realize that it probably should have been lonely or scarring in some way, a child growing up with no real friends to speak of, but my continuous stream of imaginative play kept me from contemplating my loneliness. From daring adventures on the back of a giant snow leopard to riding with Barbie in her extravagant pink Corvette, I was never truly alone. However, because of the fact that my play was limited by the utter lack of friends, I never really romped as a child. I didn't dance to the sound of my heartbeat or spin in circles or run after goblins, and at recess I would find a nice quiet place on top of the jungle gym and imagine to myself. It isn't to say that I was a particularly dormant or inactive child, but when no one is chasing you, why run? It's possible that my lack of physical stimulation has led to how docile and reserved I am, or perhaps the opposite. Either way, whether I gravitated towards pretend play because of my quiet nature, or I am generally quiet because I wasn't very active, I firmly believe that imaginative play is apparent in every functioning child, whether or not they have physical play.
ReplyDeleteAs a child, my family moved around a lot. I had the opportunity to meet a ton of people of all different sorts. Thinking back, I realize that, regardless of where I was, every child that I ever met or played with had a natural propensity for the imaginative. The same propensity was also directly demonstrated within the childhood relationship that I shared with my cousins. We were always making up ridiculous stories about escaping from pirates or surviving in the jungle. At the same time, our imaginative games were always directly associated with physical activity. This leads me to believe that a differentiation between imaginative and physical type play is not needed when describing the personality of any specific child. With children, there are no restraints that cause gravitation towards any particular type of play. The only restraint upon a child’s experience is his or her ingenuity.
ReplyDelete- Dillon Rea
ReplyDeleteMy childhood was full of both imaginative and physical play: one almost always accompanied the other. It would’ve been futile to attempt to play mermaids in the pool, for example, without imagining I really was half sea creature; just as it would have been difficult to see myself as that siren without thrashing through the water, undoubtedly resembling an epileptic annelid more than Ariel. I think that when describing children’s personalities it’s important to remember that it isn’t always black and white. Just because one child may bounce off the walls and another may sit still, lost in another world of their imagination, doesn’t mean the first couldn’t and more importantly shouldn’t engage in purely imaginative play and vice versa. Now certainly children who are content to be physically active are more likely to be athletes than their more static peers. But I think that can be contributed to our inclination as humans to stick with what we are comfortable doing. For that reason, I’m thankful that as a child I was encouraged to be physically and imaginatively active.
I chuckled at "...undoubtedly resembling an epileptic annelid more than Ariel" bit. You've answered this question well. I didn't even consider more active children to be more inclined toward sports. My answer fails to consider physical play adequately...if at all. Your comment, particularly the mention of sports, reminded me that, yes, purely (or at least, mostly) physical play does exist. It's tag, hide-and-seek, and other games of that nature. Oops.
DeleteI was a child that lived in my own make-believe world. One day I would be making mud pies in my little plastic house for the ‘family’ I had, and the next I was on a daring adventure to stop the outer space aliens. I believe the best play one can have, is a combination of both. You want to be running around; surrounded by all the tales you have woven.
ReplyDeleteIt is useful to describe a child’s personality in the two ways. I feel like that child that is more interested in the physical activity, (like hide and go seek) is a more rambunctious, and energetic than the child that would rather play house.
-Lauren Tucker
Looking back on my early childhood I would say that both kinds of play relate easily to each other. A fantasy is only as good as the physical ability and emotion that is put into it. When I was younger I used to run and jump and dance while imagining I was a princess or a spy. I do, however, believe there is a difference in children who lean more to imaginative or physical play and that it is useful to differentiate between them. It helps adults understand the personality of a child. Children who rely more on physical play could possibly be more extroverted and active, while children who rely more on imaginative play could be more intuitive and introverted. While I think that all children use both kinds of play, I believe that some children lean more towards one type of play and it is useful to notice the difference in a child.
ReplyDeleteWhat would childhood be without an imagination to entertain the dreariest moments? The distinction in childhood between the imaginative fantasies and the joy received from physical activities is actually not much at all. As a child the world of imagination came frequently and sometimes without consent. It would not always come at the times my parents would like it there but I enjoyed every minute of it. I could distinctly remember countless times where my imagination would take over reality and there would be no stop to the fantasies I had.
ReplyDeleteAfter school, at times when my father had not yet finished working for the day he would take me to my mother’s office, at the bank, after school to go home with her when she was done with her daily duties there. Of course I would be told to sit still and behave but in a few short moments that waiting room would be another playground for me, filled with out of the box things like castles and princesses, princes and dragons, giant killer animals and heroes. No I would not care that I was running around or that when I fought the dragons there was physical activity involved.
I agree with Maranda and Darby, that children do not know the difference between imaginative play and physical play, they both go hand in hand. When fighting dragons or running from other dangerous mystical animals boys and girls do not care that they are actually exercising they care that they are having fun. The two types of play are not necessary to differentiate between, no matter the type of child or the physical condition, each one of them in some way practice imagination and physical activity or sensation to entertain themselves and fill their childhoods with wonder.
I have enjoyed reading about other student's childhood games! I enjoyed the imaginative part of play more than anything else when I was a child. I would take my barbies on wild adventures through the mysterious landscape of my room. I also had an imaginary grandma who lived in my playhouse. I took care of her livestock and threw tea parties for her and her friends. My sister and I also loved to play spies when my dad was mowing the backyard. We would sneak up close to him and run away as fast as we could to concealed safety. I agree with many of the previous posts that imaginative play and physical play do not need to be separated. Working with and observing children, I have found that even obese kids will run and climb without giving it a second thought. They may be slower, but as long as they are included, nothing can hold them back. Imaginative play is where a great amount of social, mental and physical development take place, and I would hate to see a kid participate in only parts of the activity leading an under developed area.
ReplyDelete-Abigail Savage