By SHAMINI DIAS
“Don’t play around! Get serious – lah!”
“Aiyoh … this child. Always playing. I don’t know what to do with her."
“Do your work properly ok; don’t play about.”
Play is a troubled word. But ironically, the real trouble with play is it’s not taken seriously. It’s been reduced to a thin and twisted version of itself.
And yet, play is really a short form for mindful, holistic and very rich learning and growth.
“Play” is rooted in the Germanic word “plegan” which means to rejoice or be glad. But, in the social and cultural evolution of society as a result of industrialisation, “play” has been marginalised in opposition to “work”. Then it was a hop, skip and a little logical step to make “play” the bad guy.
By this logic, work is serious, practical, productive, leading to goal achievement; play is fun, impractical, unproductive and doesn’t take us anywhere. A strong work ethic means we should not be playful.
Our language reveals how very little we value play: something that is “child’s play” means it is simplistic.
We say, “stop playing and let’s get serious” in admonishment of attitudes in school and work. The media presents play as the fun that happens after we work hard; it’s a reward. Nowhere is play seen as integral to work.
Now there’s nothing wrong with a strong work ethic nor with being serious, practical, productive and setting goals.
We do want our children to embrace this.
The trouble is with the corollary; putting play in a negative space. We need to understand it better so we allow it sufficient space in our children’s lives. Our children need the values of both work and play to navigate the kind of world they are growing up in.
So, what is the value of play?
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