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Horseplay
at a social event
We were grateful to be invited to a
friend's home for dinner. There were a few other families present and everyone
brought their children. Our sons were fourteen and ten and still at an age where
they did not make a stink about going to these kinds of functions with their
parents. Before dinner we engaged in conversation with the other adults but the
boys were doing a very mild form of rough-and-tumble play with boys from
another family – arm grabbing and shadow boxing. I was not even aware of this
horseplay nor the parents of the other boys because we were accustomed to that
sort of behavior from our children. We knew that no one would get hurt and they
were smiling as they did their boy thing. All of a sudden a women bursts into
the room and broke it up, upset that they were behaving in such an immature,
bullying manner, at a house party. I calmly said: "Guys, stop doing that,
okay?" more to appease her than to admonish the kids for doing what was
natural for them.
The fact of the matter was that
rough-and-tumble activity was a regular part of our children's' existence, and
over the years there were instances when their encounters required intervention
to prevent bodily harm or verbal harassment. It was parental judgment to make
that decision to be either permissive or restrictive but considering the vast
number of hours devoted to play, my wife and I rarely had to interfere. They
were very much in control of what they were doing in this party venue, doing an
indoor version of the more robust rough-and-tumble they did at home or
outdoors. Though they were usually
involved in video games, television, and toys, wrestling and goofing around was
part of the daily routine between our boys, their cousins, and neighborhood
children, too.
However, were we wrong to allow such
engagement? Would our boys turn out to be aggressive bullies in their teens by
wrestling with each other or the neighbors in their preadolescent years?
Neither of our sons became bullies and are productive members of society. Play
was a major part of their youth and my wife and I felt that play engagement was
healthy, and acquired lots of toys, Legos, and video games. Exploration and
interaction were promoted in our household. It was our contention that those
experiences had far reaching effects on both their social and cognitive
development. As college graduates we had high expectations for them in school
as well as in their subsequent domestic lives with spouses and children and exposing
them to many psychomotor, cultural, and academic opportunities was foremost in
our parenting style. Their behavior at that party may have been seen as
inappropriate by one person but the rest of us were not even cognizant of wrongdoing
here but acknowledging that rough-and-tumble is natural in children.
Play
is a key element in the life of a human
These chapters are written to make
parents and teachers aware of play's significance in activating the brain to
promote both cognitive and emotional development in children. We will begin the
discussion with rough-and-tumble and risky experiences. You will see from the
research on animals and the many observations by psychologists in the human
sphere that limiting play can be detrimental to a child and will minimize
his/her capacity to nurture healthy relationships with others, spanning
feelings of empathy to simple conversation with relatives, friends, and
colleagues. The emotional and thinking apparatus work in unison in our species,
and play is quite simply a mandatory element in child development as well as
the adult experience. The rough-and-tumble my boys demonstrated at that party
was perhaps out of line from someone's etiquette perspective but nevertheless
an example of a healthy developmental tactic for their age. There was a measure
of self-control in the encounter and they tested the boundaries of interactive
behavior with the boys from the other family.
So, what does science say about all
this? Is rough-and-tumble play natural? What are the neurological consequences
of this controlled physicality?
In his book Free To Learn, Peter Gray goes to great lengths justifying the
value of play by examining many research studies that validate the importance
of what we calls free play, that is, play not manipulated by adults. He states
that it "is nature's way of teaching children how to solve their own
problems, control their impulses, and get along with others". [1]
Research
Studies of Mammals Show the Importance of Play in Childhood
Research suggests that rough-and-tumble
is healthy for children and a necessary component in their emotional
development. For one, institutional studies have compared the behavior of adult
mammals that were deprived of socialization with those that had
species-specific rough-and-tumble experiences.
Rats raised in stimulating
environments, for instance, not only have larger brains but are smarter as
evidenced by moving through mazes faster than unstimulated rats. [2][3] Jaak
Panksepp, professor of neuroscience at Bowling Green State University, found
that the activity activates a set of complex neurological processes. The increased
thickness of their gray matter is due not only to the proliferation of brain
cells, what is referred as neuroplasticity, but also the branching of dendrites
on the nerve axons, interconnections to other cells. The activation is biochemical
in that immediately after undergoing rough-and-tumble play as well as after
periods of exploration juvenile rats activate the cellular production of the
brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein. BDNF is associated with
growth, maintenance, and development of brain cell connections. The activation
involves the amygdala and dorsolateral frontal cortex regions in the brain,
places associated with decision-making and emotional development, a topic that
will be elaborated in subsequent chapters and an important aspect of cognition
and drive. [4][5]
Then why is play important in mammals? Mammals
are social creatures as part of their adaptation to the world. These include
such behaviors as cooperative rearing of young, foraging, and defense from
predators. Juveniles play then is an evolutionary means to cope with
emergencies, to survive in the cruel and unpredictable wild. They observed a
host of rough-and-tumble behaviors that appear vicious, but are part of a
sequence that coincides with the development of a skill set that prepares the
organism to cope with interactions with members of their own species as well as
novel situations in their environment. Cognitive development overall seems to
be related to the amount of juvenile play behavior, too.
One behavior is a posturing activity
where a participant puts one subject in a vulnerable position as a culmination
of a chasing event, allowing the participant to be pinned to the ground. This
subordinate position subjects him to the greatest physical and emotional
challenge. The one on top provides sufficient opposition so that the vulnerable
creature has to go through considerable movement with its limbs to break free.
After one round the individuals change roles (go through another chase
scenario, and then get pinned to the ground) this time allowing the other
member to be in the vulnerable position. When witnessing dogs participating in
such a ritual you observe growling, biting, and movement by all parts of the
body including head swaging. The
vulnerability-superiority game allows the animal to experience thrill along
with consequential production of BDNF, the nerve cell enhancer associated with
brain plasticity that encompasses both socialization and mental acuity.
While this prepares the animal for a
serious confrontation by a predator, it also has a social relevance within the
community. This play, seemingly vicious from our perspective, is critical in
the maturation of the animal to discriminate the many stimuli experienced daily
in order to control unwarranted fear and aggression when interacting with
peers. Not distinguishing between benign
encounters with same species individuals from true predators can be devastating
to a community's existence.
This was validated in a study where
rats were reared in separate cages, and subsequently observed for fear and
aggression in various standard behavior tests in adulthood. The isolated rats
did not develop the emotional and impulse control of socialized rats, and were
abnormally fearful and aggressive in adulthood. They did not encounter
rough-and-tumble play in their pre adult life as did the community rats. [6]
While these kinds of experiments are
never conducted with humans, modified ones have been performed with rhesus
monkeys, a primate species. The team evaluated the behavior of monkeys that
were only socialized by their mothers for one year compared to monkeys that
were raised normally with frequent interaction with peers. Mother rhesus
monkeys interact but do not play with their offspring, but juvenile peers play
frequently in monkey communities. As young adults the mother-only socialized
monkeys demonstrated excessive fear and aggression when faced with social
signals and invitations from peers such as grooming and other friendly
overtures. The authors concluded: "the frequency of unsupervised
interactions with peers during rearing is an important factor in the
development of competent social behavior". [7]
Observing
the consequence of rough-and-tumble play in human children
Have there been studies that examined
analogous social behavioral consequence with childhood play in humans? Is
exploration and rough-and-tumble a necessary component in the emotional
development of a human being? There have been a number of studies that suggest
that like their mammalian counterparts, rough-and-tumble encounters are
important in the development of temperament that mitigates aggression and
extends to various forms of cognizance.
For one, rough-and-tumble play is more
prevalent in males. The major determinant is the testosterone level in early
infanthood, but female offspring will demonstrate more physical activity
including significant preference for boys' toys and activities if their mothers
have higher levels of serum testosterone during pregnancy. [8]
In addition, the amount of time spent
in rough-and-tumble encounters peaks during the elementary school years and
then declines in middle school. Boys generally engage in physical play more
often than girls and prefer to play with boys, while girls will select both
boys and girls. Boys enjoy wrestling and holding each other down, while girls
prefer chasing games. [8]
Besides rough-and-tumble, Ellen
Sandseter, associate professor of Physical Education at Queen Maud University
College describes an entire array of juvenile behaviors labeled as 'risky'
play. She observed children on playgrounds in Norway, England, and Australia.
Her team broke them down into six categories: exploring heights, experiencing
high speed, handling dangerous tools, being near dangerous elements (like water
or fire), rough-and-tumble play (like wrestling), and wandering away from adult
supervision. The most common is climbing heights.
She concludes: “The best thing is to
let children encounter these challenges from an early age, and they will then
progressively learn to master them through their play over the years…..children
are using the same habituation techniques developed by therapists to help
adults conquer phobias…the dangers seemed to be outweighed by the benefits of
conquering fear and developing a sense of mastery." [9]
Studies of playground activity
typically find that boys are more involved with physically active play that
revolves around issues of dominance and status. [10]
If there is a distinction it would be
that girls build a greater sense of community in their language as part of
their play engagement. Their conversation
indicates that they are concerned with being nice, and creating intimacy and
solidarity within their friendship groups, wishing to be seen by their friends
as moral and lovable. [11] Nevertheless I observed girls participating in
competitive games next to our boys' contests when I was in grade school as well
as other settings during recess through the years. Panksepp videotaped
children at play and scored 20 behaviors such as running after each other,
wrestling, pushing from the front, pushing from the back, and laughing and
found no distinction between boys and girls.
Parent-Child
Play
According to Richard Fletcher,
pediatrician and professor at University of Newcastle in Australia, high-quality
rough-and-tumble session can be very meaningful when a parent is involved, and
this often is the dad in such interactions. We are not referring to just down
on the floor wrestling matches but also other confrontations such as arm
wrestling or racing. This occurs when the parent is attentive and playful, and
communicates enjoyment during the competition between the two of them. The
parent is attuned to the child's abilities and interests and can motivate the
child to re-engage. The parent succeeds in keeping a good balance between
actively challenging the child and then letting him gain the advantage through
winning. [12]
There is an additional benefit. Play
fighting between dad and sons is a powerful way to teach their sons the
physical self-control they'll need later as boyfriends, partners, and fathers
themselves. Fathers can find the balance between their young sons enjoying
themselves and getting frustrated or hurt by using rules for their sons (no
punching, kicking, etc.) and by asking how they're doing as their play-fighting
progresses. [13]
Deeper
implications about neurological development and play
John Byers, Professor of Zoology at the University of Idaho,
found that the peaking of rough-and-tumble occurs in childhood and diminishes
during puberty, a period corresponding with the growth curve for the cerebellum,
the highest concentration of nerve cells in the brain. This region was believed
for many years to be most closely associated with coordination and motor
control. However, recent scans have shown that it is also linked to other
cognitive function, among them attention, language processing, and sensing
music rhythm. It is his contention that the cerebellum needs the whole-body
movements of play to achieve its ultimate configuration, that the movements in
play activates neuro pathways that are needed for a host of motor and thinking
skills.
Bekoff, M. and Byers, J. A. (eds.) 1998. Animal play:
evolutionary, comparative, and ecological perspectives. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press
Combine this with Panksepp's neuroplasticity in the
prefrontal cortex during play, a place where goal-directed behaviors occur, and
you have a full complement of necessary developmental features in an organism.
He also has found that the prefrontal cortex is modulated by arousal from the
midbrain, notably the amygdala, a place where sensory data is interpreted for emotional value to ascertain whether the individual
applies fight or flight or even, ignore to the input. Essentially, play serves
to activate a host of processing mechanisms as a unit. Byers contends that
through play the brain is making sense of itself by performing simulations and
testing objects and people.
Stuart Brown, psychiatrist and founder of The National
Institute for Play, feels that the enormous changes in the early life in the
brain involve the potential for nerve cells to not just grow but also
interconnect in the millions and that these interconnections are shaped by
play. "Play's process of capturing a pretend narrative and combining it
with the reality of one's experience in a playful setting is, at least in
childhood, how we develop our major personal understanding of how the world
works. We do so initially by imagining possibilities – simulating what might
be, and then testing this against what actually is." Consider what happens
when a toddler manipulates toys, using the new language he or she is
developing, and sorting them based on preferences. That is why Brown contends
that elements of our personality, our actions, and belief system are derived
from the enormous number of encounters in our daily lives. Play seems to be the
most "advanced method nature has invented to allow a complex brain to
create itself".
There is a genetic component that serves as the blueprint
for making nerve cells in phenomenal abundance in the cranium, even
differentiating regions for varied purposes. However, the person ends up being
the unique creation through vast interconnections of those neurons through the
combination of watching and engaging in life's many pursuits such as sports,
physical activities, reading, storytelling, crafts, and media.
Brown, S., Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates
the Soul, Avery, 2010
After
6,000 life histories….
After reviewing more than 6000 life
histories of a broad spectrum of people including those of murderers and
criminals, Brown has come to these conclusions about play:
1. Play-deprived children are
dysfunctional in a number of ways encompassing "emotional control, social
competency, personal resiliency, and continuing curiosity".
2. Successful adults have a rich play
life. Adults that don't play are often inflexible, humorless, and react to
stress with violence and depression.
3. Though well-meaning, teachers, will
suppress natural rough-and-tumble activity of three to five year olds in order
to maintain the quiet and order they believe is part of a quality classroom.
Schools need to understand that there has to be "play hygiene in
preschools" and recognize the difference between "out of control boundary-less
anarchy, and normal rambunctious play, along with the smiling and friendship
generated during those periods".
4. Adult temperament, talents, and passions make
up an individual's emotional profile and are a reflection of their childhood
play existence. Reminiscing about those periods can help an adult connect to
what excites them about life. It may even inspire them to change vocations to
leave the drudgery of their current existence to find more joy and fulfillment.
Amazon.com Review
An Interview with Dr. Stuart Brown, MD
Retrieved from:
http://www.amazon.com/Play-Shapes-Brain-Imagination-Invigorates/dp/1583333789/ref=asap_bc?ie=UTF8
Conclusion
Activation of cellular secretion of brain-derived
neurotrophic factor (BDNF) protein is associated with support and survival of
existing neurons, and stimulating the growth and differentiation of new neurons
and synapses. Allowing juvenile rats to experience normal rough and tumble
activity correlates with the production of BDNF, larger brains, higher
intelligence, and better socialization than those that are deprived of such
activity. The evidence from observations in primates suggests that human
neurological development is correlative.
Through the physical interactions
associated with rough-and-tumble play along with taking risks incrementally,
children are learning the give-and-take of social interaction. Successful
participation in this play makes children more adept at both signaling and
detecting signals — a social proficiency they will need and use throughout
their lives. As in other mammalian species, activation of the processes that
enhance social and cognitive development coincide with play.
Because this give-and-take mimics
successful conversations and interactions, the roles practiced and learned in
rough-and-tumble play and explorative challenges provide children with the
social knowledge needed for future relationships. The human is designed to
organize a vast network of nerve axons through dendrite connections to produce
a distinct personality, shaped by the many environmental stimuli, particularly the
activity of encounters and play. [14]
A child's play life not only activates
a host of neurological functions but correlates with emotional stability and
happiness in adulthood.
Anthony Pellegrini, Educational
Psychologists at the University of Minnesota
"You learn those skills by
interacting with your peers, learning what's acceptable, what's not acceptable.
They want this thing to keep going, so they're willing to go the extra mile to
accommodate others' desires."[10]
Marc Bekoff, evolutionary biologist,
University of Colorado at Boulder
"Play is like a kaleidoscope in
that it is random and creative. It encourages flexibility and creativity that
may, in the future, be advantageous in unexpected situations or new
environments." [15]
Sergio Pellis, behavioral
neuroscientist, University of Lethbridge in Alberta
"A child who has had a rich
exposure to social play experiences is more likely to become an adult who can
manage unpredictable social situations."[16]
Leif Kennair, Norwegian University of
Science and Technology, and Ellen Sandseter, Queen Maud University College
“Paradoxically, we posit that our fear
of children being harmed by mostly harmless injuries may result in more fearful
children and increased levels of psychopathology.” [9]
References
[1] Gray, P., Free
to Learn: why unleashing the instinct to play will make our children happier,
more self-reliant, and better students for life,
New York: Basic Books, 2013
[2] Greenough WT and Black JE. Induction
of brain structure by experience: substrates for cognitive development.
In: Gunnar MR, Nelson CA, eds. Minnesota Symposia on Child Psychology:
Developmental Neuroscience. Vol 24. Hillside, NJ: Lawrence A Erlbaum
Associates; 1992:155-200
[3] Siviy, S.M. (2008). Effects
of prepubertal social experiences on the responsiveness of juvenile rats to
predator odors. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews, 32,
1249-1258.
[4] Gordon NS1, Burke S, Akil H, Watson SJ,
Panksepp J. Socially-induced
brain 'fertilization': play promotes brain derived neurotrophic factor
transcription in the amygdala and dorsolateral frontal cortex in juvenile rats.
Neurosci Lett. 2003 Apr 24; 341(1):17-20.
[5] Huber R1, Tononi G, Cirelli C. Exploratory behavior, cortical
BDNF expression, and sleep homeostasis, Sleep. 2007
Feb;30(2):129-39.
[6] Dr. Dorothy F. Einon*, Michael J. Morgan and
Christopher C. Kibbler, Brief
periods of socialization and later behavior in the rat, Developmental
Psychobiology, Volume 11, Issue 3, pages 213–225, May 1978
[7] Kempes MM1, Gulickx MM, van Daalen HJ, Louwerse
AL, Sterck EH., Social
competence is reduced in socially deprived rhesus monkeys
(Macaca mulatta). J Comp Psychol. 2008 Feb; 122(1):62-7.
[8] Frost, Joe L., Sue Wortham, Stuart Reifel. Play and Child Development.
Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 2001. p. 241.
[9] Kennair, L., Sandseter E., Children’s
Risky Play from an Evolutionary Perspective: The Anti-Phobic Effects of Thrilling
Experiences, Evolutionary Psychology, Volume 9(2). 257-284,
2011
[10] Anthony D. Pellegrini., Mahwah, N.J.: L.
Erlbaum Associates 2005, Recess:
its role in education and development, Psychology Press; (2005)
[11] Pam Jarvis, "Rough-and-tumble"
Play: Lessons in Life, Evolutionary Psychology
human-nature.com/ep – 2006. 4: 330-346
[12] Richard Fletcher, Jennifer St. George &
Emily Freeman, Rough-and-tumble
play quality: theoretical foundations for a new measure of father–child interaction, Fathers
and Development: New Areas for Exploration Early Child Development and Care,
Volume 183, Issue 6, 2013
[13] Biddulph, Steve, Raising
boys: why boys are different--and how to help them become happy and
well-balanced men, Berkeley, Calif., Celestial Arts, 1998
[14] Carlson, Frances. "Rough-and-tumble play 101."
ChildCareExchange.com. Retrieved from
<http://www.ccie.com/library/5018870.pdf > 10 Nov. 2010.
[15] Bekoff, M., Pierce, J., Wild
Justice: The Moral Lives of Animals, University of Chicago Press,
2009
[16] Pellis, S., The
Playful Brain: Venturing to the Limits of Neuroscience,
Oneworld Publications, 2009
