The Limits of Play

I think play is something that should be limitless, but practically, it cannot be. There must be some boundries that parents must put in order to prevent terrible accidents. For example, in the New York Times article Taking Play Seriously, the author says, "One of the strkest measurements of the risk of play was made by Robert Harcourt...who spent nine months in 1988 observing seal pups off the coast of Peru. Harcourt witnessed 102 seal pups attacked by southern sea lions; 26 of them were killed...In other words, nearly 85 percent of the pups that were killed had been playing." This means that although play is very improtant for the development of certain skills necessary in life, it is also very important to be careful. At the same time, however, we cannot create a limit that prohibits children to stop using their imaginations and creativity. I agree that we should allow kids to do whatever they want in order to develop and have fun, but I think play should definitely have a limit, just so that they aren't fatally injured. I would say that creativity is not more important than general wellbeing of a person. I understand that there are many pros to playing in a "dangerous" environment as this would allow children to make up their own rules and learn what is pain on their own. I agree with Ally, in that if a child learns pain, he or she will also learn empathy, and I do think it is important for this skill to be developed. I just think that this radical play should have a limit, and not cause any harm that will not be reversable.