CLINICAL EDITOR’S COMMENTS:
School-based play therapists can become SB-RPTs and advocate for more free play and for play therapy in the school setting.
M
any of us remember our parents telling us to “Go PLAY!” These two words were an indicator to children to stay outside until the street lights came on. Although those days are long gone, they are not forgotten. Today, “Go PLAY!” is still a directive and a cheer. However, access to unstructured play settings for children continues to decline. “Outside” can be
sense of community, while “inside” can be inundated with televisions, tablets, and electronic gaming devices. As a result, some children unstructured play, explore play regulation in the school setting, reinforce the need for more School Based-Registered Play Therapists (SB-RPT), and identify ways that school counselors can engage in play advocacy to enhance the holistic growth of children.
Article 31 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that children have the right “to rest and leisure, to engage in play and recreational activities appropriate to the age of the child and to participate children’s unstructured play endorse children’s rights. However, children increasingly play in isolated situations with few peer interactions. Despite having a desire to go outside, they may be unwittingly trapped by a lack of social skills needed to engage in healthy friendships, or they may see fewer children outside with whom to interact due to an increase in screenplay activities (e.g., gaming, tablet use). The staggering loss of are, may make parents feel hesitant to endorse outside play (Farahani, 2016). Residually, remaining indoors may perpetuate a lack of trust in others and further isolation.
Yet, children tend to be most happy when they are connected to others and playing freely. For children, play is learning in action, and free play is an important part of their lives. Unstructured play allows children to explore, create, imagine, and grow intellectually, as well as emotionally
& Drewes, 2014). Free play enhances children’s knowledge of the world, themselves, and others and teaches them how to socialize, cooperate, negotiate, choose, and build competence. Thus, unstructured play needs to become a conditioned priority for children’s developmental, mental, emotional, and social growth.
Play Regulation in the School Setting Children are increasingly diagnosed with mental health issues that impact their academic abilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC, 2013), millions of American children three to seventeen years of age struggle with disorders related to trauma, disorder (ADHD). Because children spend a majority of their time awake in the school setting, attending to their emotional and mental health needs in school is of paramount importance.
Play prepares children for learning and can offset and counterbalance mental health
challenges that children present in the school setting.
children’s intellectual, emotional, physical, and social development (Landreth, 2012). In light of its contributions to academic excellence, it is paradoxical that play is being devalued constantly and is being stripped out of the school setting continually. Play prepares children for learning and can offset and counterbalance mental health challenges that children present in the school setting. According to Landreth (2012), a major objective of play and play therapy is to “help children get ready is preparation for cognitive development and academic success.
that may exist in some schools are often regulated. Children love recess,
www.a4pt.org | March 2019 | PLAYTHERAPY | 5
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