In 2014, police killed 12-year-old Tamir Rice as he played with a toy gun at a Cleveland recreation center. Ma’Khia Bryant was 16 when she was killed by police, also in Ohio. In Orlando, six-year-old ...

Over the years of working with children, I have seen many circumstances supporting the importance of play for appropriate development. This is also something supported quite strongly in the research ...

The playground at Lake County Intermediate School in Leadville, Colo., was in desperate need of a makeover. The schoolyard didn’t offer much — just a few swings, some rusty climbing equipment, a ...

Children with ADHD often have seemingly boundless energy. Activities for children with ADHD that focus on movement, skill building, and sensory input can help direct their energy into beneficial ...

As a young teenager, I babysat preschoolers. The experience earned me pocket change, taught me a bit about responsibility, and probably delayed my decision to become a mother for a decade or so. I ...

Language in Society, Vol. 24, No. 3 (Sep., 1995), pp. 315-348 (34 pages) Children's play activities are widely perceived as developing from primitive to increasingly complex forms of social ...

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Free play, especially "risky play," is essential for the well-being of children, Canadian pediatricians say. The Canadian Pediatric Society released new guidance on Jan. 25, ...

North India's smog crisis highlights the critical need for indoor play as children's outdoor activities decline. With 80% of ...

The rate of childhood obesity in the U.S. has tripled over the past 50 years. But what this trend means for children's long-term health, and what to do about it (if anything), is not so clear. The ...

One of my earliest posts here concerned the definition of play, which I developed further in an article on “Definitions of Play” for Scholarpedia (Gray, 2013) and in my book Free to Learn. I first ...