Deseret News – Lois M. Collins
“All childhood aggression is not equal, but that’s a fact missed by stringent no-touch policies that eradicate free-play activities like a good game of tag or dodgeball…”Roughhousing is more than good exercise. Psychological research shows that it’s essential to childhood development, writes Virginia Postrel in a column for Bloomberg News. “Rowdy, physical play teaches kids to communicate verbally and nonverbally; to take turns; to negotiate rules; and to understand when they can use their full strength and when they need to hold back…”Roughhousing fertilizes our brain. For real,” wrote Therese Borchard. “This kind of physical play releases a chemical called brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) which really is like fertilizer for our brains. Roughhousing stimulates neuron growth within the cortex and hippocampus regions of the brain, responsible for memory, learning, language, and logic.””(more)