In this review paper, Kenneth R. Ginsburg and colleagues review key health benefits that play provides to children, including the development of new competencies and decision-making skills, resiliency, and the ability to share with others and resolve conflicts. In addition, the authors highlight the importance of play to the development of strong parent-child relationships. While play offers many critical benefits, Ginsburg and colleagues review evidence highlighting the reduced opportunities many children today have for child-driven play. The authors discuss several key factors that have led to this decline and maintain that solutions to enhance child-driven play must be addressed at multiple levels (from families to communities to schools) and that each child will vary in his or her needs with regard to play and the balance between play and other activities. Ginsburg and colleagues conclude this paper with specific advice for pediatricians to enhance their ability to best guide and support parents.
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