The Play Deficit

     After reading The Play Deficit  by Peter Gray, I'm surprised that there's someone other than Rosin who is encouraging the use of risky play; every adult seems to want to restrict their children more and more these days so some new stance on the area of children's freedom is refreshing. Similarly to Rosin, he talks about his days as a child, roaming around with pure freedom in his neighborhood, knowing his parent's only concern is him being home in time for dinner. Rather than using the phrase "risky play" as Rosin does, he refers to this type of play as "hunter-gatherer". He explains it as having to make compromises and decisions without the help or reliance of his parents, and how his time playing unsupervised with other kids of various ages in his neighborhood helped him to discover rights and wrongs, and a great deal of problem solving. He stresses the importance of hunter-gatherer play with the example of young animals and how they play a lot more than adult animals. Gray talks about the zebra, and how like many prey animals, partake in play focused on dodging and running. This, Gray theorizes, is how they learn to run from predators, which he labels "practice theory of play".

     Gray's stance on children's play, although explained differently, directly parallels Rosin's article in the reasons why children need risky play and hunter-gatherer play. Although Gray doesn't explicitly discuss the importance of implementing dangerous aspects such as Rosin suggests with fire, both explain that free play is something very crucial to a child's development. It allows them to figure out the world on their own in small ways with other children, and the unsupervised aspect allows them to break out of their shells and do things they normally would shy away from if their parents were looming over their shoulder. It promotes independence, social skills, and respect for others. Both Rosin and Gray perfectly execute the same idea of the need for more unsupervised playtime as a child is growing and developing.

     While Rosin leans more towards the idea of dangerous factors in risky play helping children overcome fears and develop independence, and Gray focuses on the importance of hunter-gatherer play (which is excruciatingly similar to risky play, I promise you) and how it can teach a child important skills and is a very good tool for learning, they both conclude that unsupervised play of any sort, and allowing children to get a feel of the world on their own without the burden of their parent's short leash is crucial to a child's development and igniting their independence.