Spontaneous And Supervised Play in Childhood

start things going. A few examples from such original starting points as food getting, teasing, fighting, ownership, collecting, motherly behavior, rivalry, imitation, desire for approval or display, gregariousness, and the like, will perhaps serve to make clear how close in origin are work and play. For example, let an adult take some children to a wood for a happy playtime. Watch the children run hither and thither collecting flowers, leaves, and nuts. Notice their happy rivalry as they vie for advantage in seeking their treasures; see their motherly behavior toward the little ones in the group; watch the playful fighting and the various appeals for adult approval. Let us suppose the little group of children becomes lost from its adult protectors, and that night sets in. With the pangs of hunger comes the struggle among members of the group for the remainder of the lunch. Serious fighting takes the place of the former playful combat and an unpleasant rivalry of ideas regarding the best thing to do succeeds the former pleasantries in conversation. In both situations the mainsprings of action are the same; in one situation, however, adult protection anda favorable environment permit a happy, casual, almost accidental use of the instincts of food getting, fighting, teasing, ownership, collecting, motherly behavior, and the like; in the second situation, fear, hunger, cold, and dark stimulate a serious, carefully planned use of the same instinctive tendencies. ...