China Daily – Dora Ho Choi-wa
“In Chinese societies, play has been considered a waste of time and energy, and is believed to be harmful to learning. Hence we have the Chinese proverbs: “Riding a hobby saps one’s will to make progress”; and “Progress in learning depends on diligent work rather than play”. But in reality, contradictory to such traditional Chinese thinking, during play children have to come up with solutions when faced with problems. This propels their cognitive development. Also, when children engage themselves in interactive communication with peers, they will learn some new vocabulary. In addition, the social context of a play environment requires children to regulate their emotions and collaborate with others. To elaborate, during play, whether they play or fight, they will have to assume several roles – a friend, a protector, a defender, a judge, etc, and they will have to learn to empathize, analyze, assess, share and so on. This promotes children’s affective, emotional and social development. Besides, playing involves physical activity and this improves their bodily development so children grow up healthy. In view of the advantages mentioned so far, play does not sap children’s will but helps them to gain all-round personal development.”(more)