A Prescription for Play

By Sandra Whitehead


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N: 0in 0in 0pt">How do we encourage more free play in our kids’ lives? Educators, child-development experts and parents offer this advice:


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N: 0in 0in 0pt">• Make time for downtime. Put it on your schedule if you have to! Lie on the grass with your kids and examine the clouds, play a game of hide-and-seek. Show your children that you, too, value downtime.


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N: 0in 0in 0pt">• Resist peer pressure from other parents to overschedule your child in sports or after-school classes. Limit kids to one or two extracurricular activities a week.


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N: 0in 0in 0pt">• Play with your child. Pull out the blocks, a board game, dolls or toy cars, and get down on the floor to play.


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N: 0in 0in 0pt">• Play with your baby. Make funny faces, sing and dance around the room.


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