IN DAVOS GOOD THINGS HAPPENING
Let’s visit the World Economic Forum in Davos to see what these leaders have to say about kids. Oddly the focus was on taking some time to talk about the importance of letting kids play. Three groups including the heavy hitters play time (LEGO Foundation, IKEA Group, National Geographic) formed the Real Play Coalition. Their mission statement is to “create a movement that prioritizes the importance of play as not only something that lets kids be kids, but as something that sparks the fire for a child’s development and learning.”
OVER-SCHEDULED KIDS NEED A CREATIVE OUTLET
Many kids’ lives are over-scheduled and parents are signing them up for every extracurricular activity imaginable. Kids need time for creative play. In an article titled “To play is to learn,” the coalition explains why play needs to be viewed as a fundamental right of children: “Research shows that play is vital to a child’s development, equipping them with the skills necessary to tackle humanity’s future, such as emotional intelligence, creativity and problem solving.”
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The coalition points out at the Economic Forum that there are many good reasons why we must prioritize play for young children today, their focus is that we cannot foresee the future and play builds useful resilience. “So long as our ever-changing world continues to pose new challenges to play, children’s ability to develop skills that are essential to their future and ability to adapt will develop all the same”
COALITION MAKES INARGUABLE POINTS ON KIDS AT ECONOMIC FORUM
A core argument is that play makes children happy and confident, and therefore safer. A child with good physical strength, ability to self-navigate, and creative thinking skills is less vulnerable to the world. It is a child who will get themselves home, and work to resolve problems independently. Letting kids play is a win-win situation all around and the more people calling for free play to be viewed as a fundamental right is good! The World Economic Forum deserves a round of applause.
