Bermain bagi Anak ternyata Penting (Children's play was crucial)

Peter Gray, professor riset bidang psikologi di Boston College, Amerika Serikat, mengemukakan risetnya bahwa 50 tahun-an silam para orang tua tak jarang bahkan hampir semua menyuruh anak-anak mereka untuk pergi bermain, tapi sekarang anak-anak kebanyakan dilarang untuk bermain ke luar rumah. Padahal banyak hal yang dapat dipelajari di luar rumah.

Ketika anak-anak diizinkan untuk bermain, mereka akan menyusun games, bernegosiasi aturan dan memastikan bahwa orang lain akan bermain adil. Semua itu membantu untuk mengajarkan anak bagaimana membuat keputusan, memecahkan masalah, dan mendapatkan control diri. “Anak yang punya terlalu banyak ledakan emosional atau yang bersikeras memaksakan kehendaknya, akan belajar bahwa mereka perlu mengubah perilaku jika ingin terus diterima ke dalam sebuah kelompok,” tutur Gray.

“Melalui bermain bebas, mereka memperoleh kompetensi dasar yang akhirnya diperlukan saat menjadi orang dewasa,” sebut Gray, penulis dari dua studi dalam American Journal of Play, “Tetapi, sejak pertengahan 1950-an, orang dewasa telah memainkan peran yang lebih besar dalam kegiatan anak-anak mereka, dengan mengorbankan kesehatan mental anak-anaknya,” katanya.
Limited land and child in the yard makes the intensity of playing on the wane. The researchers found that children in the U.S. has far less time to play compared to children at 50 years ago. A trend that would have serious consequences for development and mental health of children.

"Until the 1950's, children are free to do the best part of their childhood. If you stay at home with her mother, she would say 'go out and play'. Natural place for children is outdoors, "said Peter Gray, research associate professor of psychology at Boston College, USA.

"At present, just the opposite. Parents do not allow children to play freely. In fact, if they do, no other kids out there who are invited to play, or his mother may have limits on their children, such as 'not out of the home page' even the kids do not want to live out there, "he continued as HealthDay quoted by page.

When the children were allowed to play, they will arrange games, negotiating rules and ensure that other people will play fair. All of that helps to teach children how to make decisions, solve problems, and gain self-control. "Children who have too much emotional outbursts or who insist on imposing their will, will learn that they need to change behavior if you want to continue to be accepted into a group," said Gray.

"Through free play, they eventually acquire the basic competencies required when becoming an adult," said Gray, author of two studies in the American Journal of Play, "But, since the mid-1950s, adults have played a greater role in the activities their children, at the expense of the mental health of children, "he said.