First, what is play?

The Oxford Languages defines play as: 

Second, what is play-deprivation and what are the signs that a child might be suffering from not enough play?

A child is play-deprived when he/she does not get an adequate amount of time to be able to explore their world around them: use their senses to hear, smell, taste, touch, and see. 

So, we have heard the many benefits of play with children, but have you heard what happens when a child is withheld from play on a regular basis? Let me show you:

• more likely to have depression
• low self-esteem
• more susceptible to addictions
• poor early childhood development 
• less self-control
• difficulty adapting to change
• behavior problems

These are tough things to hear. I have to be honest, these make me so sad. When the signs are laid out in front of us, it is mind boggling, how many kids lack the opportunity to play. 

Conclusion: What do we do about it?

We share this information. We share the effects of play-deprivation. We share the awesome benefits of play. We recognize how important play is in early childhood development and how great of an impact it can have on a young child's future. We play. We observe our children playing. We set our kids up for success, with things that interest them, that encourage them to explore. 

Listening and observing our kids will help us prepare them for play. We will be able to recognize what stage of development they are in and have things on hand that will help them with that stage. 

If your child is in a stage of development, where they love to build, check out our Pop Suckers Set! If your child is in a stage of hands-on learning and love to use manipulatives, check out our Counting Rainbow Bears Activity Set!

We love to encourage play and we want to help you however we can! Check us out on IG and FB @thestupidfishtoyshoppe for more play!

Happy playing and have fun, learn, and grow!