The Developmental Benefits Of Playgrounds

In publishing The Developmental Benefits of Playgrounds, ACEI is extending the knowledge base about appropriate playground materials, equipment, and use patterns. The initial chapter focuses on the importance of play, with special attention to contemporary research by neuroscientists that reveals, through the aid of high-tech brain imaging techniques, concrete support for the centuries-old contention of noted philosophers and other academicians that play is critical to children's healthy development. This conclusion, seemingly obvious, has yet to be adopted by many who influence children's opportunities and environments for play. Later chapters identify developmental sequences for children's motor behaviors during their play on several types of playground equipment. Chapter 1 sets the stage for placing these sequences in developmental context by reviewing patterns and stages of play behaviors across the age spans: infant, toddler, preschool, and school age. A primary focus throughout the book is considering individual levels of physical, social, and cognitive development, rather than chronological age, when making decisions about children's play and playgrounds. Although not discussed in this book, play also carries profound therapeutic benefits for all children, especially those who are traumatized, abused, and/or stressed. Joe L. Frost, Pei-San Brown, John A. Sutterby, and Candra D. Thornton, 2004. 240 pp. ISBN 0-87173-164-9 No. 1042 $32.50 ($26.00 ACEI members)