Last reviewed by Faculty of Harvard Medical School on December
29, 2009 By Claire McCarthy, M.D. Boston Children's Hospital
It's a sad commentary on our society when the American Academy
of Pediatrics (AAP) has to issue a report reminding parents and
doctors that it's important for children to play. The October
2006 report, called "The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy
Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds,"
points out that some children aren't being given adequate free
time just to play. Back to top Childhood Has Changed There are
many reasons for this trend: - Increased academic demands, due
in part to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, have caused
schools to cut back or eliminate recess time in favor of more
time spent on reading and math. - Parents receive messages from
the media and society that they should be building every skill
or aptitude possible in their children from an early age. As a
result, parents feel that they must enroll children in lots of
activities, and buy