The game
enhance growth
«Play is a source of motivation and therefore a childhood without games would be unimaginable. A child who doesn't know how to play is "in the making" an adult not only incapable of thinking and reasoning, but also of acting responsibly».
Claparede
Children love to play and it is an activity they do with extreme care. Through play, in fact, the child begins to understand how things work: what can or cannot be done with certain objects, he realizes the existence of laws of chance and probability and of rules of behavior that must be respected . The experience of playing teaches the child to be persevering and to have confidence in his own abilities; it is a process through which he becomes aware of his inner and outer world, beginning to accept the legitimate demands of these two realities. Thanks to neuroscience today we have a deeper knowledge of the learning process. In one of her conferences, Daniela Lucangeli, full professor of Developmental Psychology at the University of Padua, confirms an important and fundamental fact: the importance of play in child development. The playful activities, to which children are dedicated, change hand in hand with their intellectual and psychological development, but they remain a fundamental aspect of the life of every individual, in all age groups.
There is a kind of “gambling deprivation”. In animals it has been observed that if a puppy is deprived of this playful apprenticeship, once an adult it will not be able to play or interact with others in the right way. Life without play is bleak, develops severe social problems in adulthood and inability to mate. Research on humans identifies "non-gamers" tend to be workaholics and especially as depressed. In children, the lack of time to devote to play creates a great difficulty. Peter Gray, a psychologist and professor at Boston College, who has devoted most of his studies to the play instinct in children and its usefulness in growth, found that fewer opportunities to play are accompanied by "a decrease in empathy and an increase in narcissism. In fact, he stated that a child who does not have time to play as a child will be an adult with "an excessive self-conception" and a poor "ability to see things from another person's point of view and to understand what they feel" .
However, it must be clarified that playing does not mean frivolous or superficial. The playful activity is a sort of test which, in a hidden way, tests by stimulating the ability to think. Michel de Montaigne said:
"Children's games are not games, they must be considered as their most serious actions".
An activity that prepares the child for the job of living. But if playing is an important activity for children, it is even more so for adults, who often avoid playing: growing up, the vision of the game changes, loses its importance and becomes ridiculous. A huge mistake. The game continues to fascinate the individual even in adulthood, giving him full awareness of his abilities in a congenial atmosphere. During the game you experiment with choices, you discover sides of your character that are often dormant and you socialize with extreme simplicity. In adults, play is an important moment for psychophysical well-being, just as indispensable as it is in children and adolescents. Playing, in a free and creative way, allows our brain to exercise its flexibility, to maintain and renew neural connections, to spur adaptation. In fact, play stimulates the growth of nerves in the parts of the brain that process emotions and executive functions. A little play can help solve big problems: it is proven that having fun releases tension and facilitates connections useful for greater flexibility and mental creativity. Playing teaches us to be with others, it is a strong unifying force and in fact it is often used as a team-building activity to strengthen the ties between the employees of a company. The adult man continues to play, even if occasionally, chess, checkers, cards, or football, tennis, basketball; moreover, he plays in all the moments in which he allows himself to "not be serious" or to make fun of himself or others.
LEARN HAVING FUN
The essential importance of play in human life, especially in the phase preceding adolescence, suggests a possible use in the educational field, to make learning more natural and easier.
The phrase you learn by playing is not, therefore, just a way of saying, but should be understood with a broader meaning as it takes into account the involvement of various mental and cognitive aspects in the playful activity. The game is, in fact, a tool to achieve important goals: it facilitates the acquisition of rules, memorization and understanding of concepts; fosters relationships with others, recognition of one's limits and abilities; develops manual skills and eye-motor coordination.
Furthermore, in the game it is possible to observe the behavior of an individual in a situation in which he is freer to express those attitudes which normally escape the teacher's attention.