Exam Fever: Time to Play

Last week I wrote about helping children through exam season with ideas around modulating intensity. One of the things I wrote about was "brain breaks".

"Ideally, a brain break should involve a bit of movement, like kicking a soccer ball around, or going for a jog or walk, or raking leaves! Have a cold or hot drink to stay hydrated, maybe munch on something healthy. Try to encourage your child not to use the brain break to catch up on messages from friends, this can be very distracting and they may battle to get back to focus on studying after the break."

I would love to emphasise the importance of play for children in this time as part of brain breaks. Dr. Frances Aboud (Professor, McGill University) says that play improves thinking capacity. What if play helps your child establish the gains they have made in their study time? By this I mean, they have been studying to retain knowledge and during play time this knowledge they've gained is more easily integrated into their brains. However, the play needs to have certain qualities for best benefits.

Avoid screentime as play. Screentime is yet more sedentary time, and we need to get our kids moving their bodies! Screentime is also a massive distraction and fragmentor of attention.

The best type of play is outdoors and physical in nature, wherever possible.

It is always beneficial to play with your children, for you and your child. And it may be especially meaningful to play during this exam season. It builds the relationship, can give you insight into their emotional landscape in this time, and it gives you both permission to be playful in the midst of what may be a stressful time. You get to model to your child that taking emotional health seriously is as important as taking academic learning seriously.

It's the weekend, think about how you can incorporate a bit more play into your child's life this weekend. When can you encourage them to get out and play, and when can you join them and play together?