When one has learned that there is a natural and orderly evolution of the play impulse, one realizes that it is rational to follow this natural order in promoting individual development. Play takes on a dignity that it never had in the days when it was looked on as an uncurbed attribute of infancy to be tolerated only because there seemed no possible way of eradicating it.
Play as Natural Education
Indeed, the scientific discussions have gone much further than merely to trace the course of the development of play. They show why play is to be recognized as a necessary phase of life. At first the immature instincts of the child tend to express themselves in activities that are irregular and ill-coordinated, but aimed unmistakably in the direction of the later serious activities of adult life. The kitten chases the ball in preparation for the later activities of the hunt. The explanation of this form of early play is that in the young animal’s nervous system there are inherited paths which are ripening into action. The impulses of life tend to flow down these inherited paths; it is nature’s method of helping the nervous system to mature to the point of full action.
When nature’s processes have matured the nervous system, the lines of behavior of which the individual is capable are diverse. Each serious activity of life engages some of the individual’s energy and brings to the point of fatigue a certain group of his possible activities. When one part of the nervous system has been fatigued, there will always be other parts which have not been used. For example, a man who reads for four hours does not use his arms and legs. At the end of the four hours his reading powers will be fatigued, but his arms and legs will be overready for action. There must be some change in activity and some relaxation from serious work. Play is nature’s answer to this demand.
Social Necessity of Recreation
In addition to the scientific studies of the nature and function of play appears the sociological fact that the growth of leisure has created a new demand for well-regulated play. Furthermore, the conditions of urban life are unfavorable for some of the simple plays which in an earlier stage of civilization furnished an outlet for the natural impulses. If the environment is artificial, there must be a deliberate and intelligent effort to supply what nature demands but civilization has made inaccessible.
The danger in a congested city where natural play is not possible is a moral danger. There are vicious agencies which are not slow to take advantage of the strong natural demand for recreation. The result is that for the sake of gain appeals are made to the baser impulses of human nature. The success of these unsavory forms of amusement attests the presence of a strong natural demand. The way to meet the danger is to provide forms of recreation which are wholesome and elevating.
Play as Physical Education
Finally, all the arguments in favor of play are reënforced by the general demand that the physical condition of children in school be made a matter of especial concern. Play is the form of exercise which serves better than any other to keep the physical system in good tone. Hence the conclusion that play is as indispensable as it is natural.