Secret Worlds of Summer -- The Imagination

Prof. William Corsaro was online Tuesday, June 26 at 11 a.m. ET to discuss today's story about the changing nature of how children pretend, the power of imagination and the need for unstructured play.

A transcript follows.

Corsaro is a professor of sociology at Indiana University and the author of "We're Friends Right? Inside Kids' Culture."

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William Corsaro: Hi, This is Bill Corsaro. I am a sociology professor at Indiana University. I am happy to answer questions about children's pretend play.

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Arlington, Va.: Are there differences between how kids play, at a young age, across ethnic/racial/economic lines, or are they more or less the same?

William Corsaro: There is quite a bit of research on race, ethnic and class differences in the play of young children. The findings show more similarities than differences as all children love to engage in complex fantasy play. One difference is that children from lower class groups often stay closer to the adult models in their play. This finding reflects the fact that they use play to deal with some of the challenging aspects of growing up in a difficult environment.

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Washington, D.C.: The play pretending in the story sounds like the same kind of stuff kids have done for decades. Is it surprising that playing pretend is such a consistent activity for kids? How would you explain what purpose it serves?

William Corsaro: Children's pretend play has been reported to occur as far back as Medieval times. So it is clearly a consistent aspect of childhood or what I like to call peer culture. The main purpose of pretend, fantasy play is that it is fun! It enables children to do share their interests and gives them a sense of control over their lives. Fantasy play also contributes to children's development of language and social skills.

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Washington, D.C.: Hi, Professor Corsaro,

As I read this article, I thought back to my big backyard growing up in the Midwest. The photos in the article showed kids playing in family-friendly neighborhoods (Hyattsville and Takoma Park) where there are nice leafy yards. In an area like D.C., these communities are increasingly rare (or expensive!). What can kids do who grow up in communities without a lot of green space? Actually, my question should be what can parents do to encourage this type of imaginative play when there's not a lot of greenspace for safe unsupervised play?

William Corsaro: This is an important question that concerns me a lot. I have done many years of research in preschools in the U.S. and Italy and also in Head Start centers in the U.S. for poor children. These settings provide safe environments and play areas inside and outside the schools that promote complex and exciting fantasy play. However, such play environments are less available for many (especially poor children) outside educational settings. We need to provide safe greenspaces and parks for such children. Some families in poor neighborhoods deal with the problem by inviting friends and relatives to play close to the home on porches and in backyards. However, as we could read in the article these areas are less conducive to complex pretend play in the large yards and greenspace areas of wealthy suburban families. Finally, we can encourage fantasy play by making the most of what space is available. I remember using my small back yard in a working class neighborhood for many pretend adventures.

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Washington, D.C.: The story mentions the kids pretending about pirates and gypsies -- what are some of the most common "themes" kids pretend to be, and why do you think they're popular? Do they represent something, or do kids just know they're supposed to play cops and robbers?

William Corsaro: I have found three common themes in my research on children's fantasy play: danger-rescue; lost-found; and death-rebirth. These themes can be enacted in many ways with pirates, gypsies, pretending to be wild animals and so on. In enacting various improvised play plots kids address concerns about the themes I note above, danger, being lost, and death. What is so fascinating is how complex the fantasy play is that revolves around these themes.

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Columbia, Md.: As a Kindergarten teacher, I am DELIGHTED to see this sort of thing getting attention in the press. Early childhood professionals are aware of the importance and need for unstructured play time for children. All the research points to it. How can we convince schools -- and parents! -- that this is a serious and vital part of a child's development? I add parents because in my experience, parents too often are overscheduling their children's free time for fear they'll be "bored."

William Corsaro: As I said I have studied in preschools for many years and want to say what a great job early education teachers do in stimulating children's imaginations and encouraging unstructured or free play. It is as you say a vital and central part of children's development and their childhoods. We need to let kids be kids and refrain from scheduling all aspects of their lives. This is true not just for 3 to 5 year olds, but older kids as well. Sometimes adults think children need to learn something from every experience, but they also need the opportunity to make friends, share interests and concerns, and to produce their own peer cultures.

washingtonpost.com: Let Kids Be Kids (washingtonpost.com, June 25)

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Columbia, Md.: In response to the question about the purpose of fantasy play, would you agree that it also gives children the opportunity to work through stressful situations?

William Corsaro: Yes, I strongly agree that fantasy play and what I call social dramatic role play helps kids deal with stress. We know from historical studies that slave children recreated slave auctions in the role play which helped them deal with the real fears of being separated from the slave community. Children create themes in fantasy play which address fears as well as things that they are curious about.

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Alexandria, Va.: There are so many efforts to support children's play outside -- which I wholeheartedly agree with. I'm curious though how outdoor play is viewed in Europe or other more densely populated parts of the world. How do children function in those places -- what kind of nature-deficit disorder do they have?

William Corsaro: I am right now in Norway where outdoor play is greatly encouraged and they even have special "nature" preschools where children spend the majority of each day outside. However, in my research in Italy there was less concern about children being outside, especially in cold or rainy weather. On the other hand the Italian children often took field trips into the city and to rural areas. Many of their experiences on these field trips later became part of their fantasy play inside the preschool or in the outside yard. So there are cultural differences which in some ways as you suggest reflect the geography of the various countries.

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Washington, D.C.: My four year-old son likes to pretend to be the "bad guy" when we plays with his sister, or a group of other children. His favorite characters in movies tend to be the bad guys as well, such as Jafar in "Aladdin" or the Wicked Witch in "Wizard of Oz." While this worried me initially, I've noticed that many children his age seem to shun the heroes for the bad guys. Any insight into why this might be?

William Corsaro: I see no problem in your son wanted to be the "bad" guys in fantasy play. In many ways the villain is attractive and can be the role chosen even because he or she is a bit scary. I have found that kids often go through phases in their choice of roles in fantasy play, so he may soon go on to take other roles.

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Southern Prince George's: With the advent of video games, TV, computers, organized play dates, and children starting organized team sports at a younger age, has the reduction of unorganized play time been detrimental to children's social skills and learning when they are start school??

William Corsaro: This is a very good question and we really need more research to tell. Clearly kids' lives are more overly structured than was the case in the past and we need to provide more time for spontaneous play. As far as video games we need more study of kids actually playing the games. Do they play alone or with others? Do they talk about and incorporate elements of the video games into their more spontaneous play? We really do not know. However, if a child is spending hours playing video games, this works against what she or he could be experiencing and learning in spontaneous fantasy play with friends.

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Fairfax, Va.: How much has technology intervened in the interaction of children at play, i.e., are more kids finding their pretend stimuli in video games rather than with other kids? In your view, what is the impact of video games?

William Corsaro: I addressed this somewhat in a previous question. My own reaction to video games is that they limit social interaction and to some extent children's imagination. However, we need more research on kids actually playing such games and knowledge of how the games enter into their peer relations and culture. I think the best approach is not to deny video games to kids, but ask them why they like them and encourage them to engage in other types of play if they are too involved in video games.

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Philadelphia: I am reading a biography of Martin Grove Brumbaugh, the Pennsylvania educator who started the playground movement in Philadelphia in the early 20th century. It is interesting how just a century ago the idea of playgrounds was a radical concept. What are the current thoughts on playgrounds?

William Corsaro: Most playgrounds are great for physical activity and the development of motor skills. Also kids love being up high looking down at adults and playgrounds offer many opportunities for this. Playgrounds are also great places for parents and children to be together (especially younger kids). However, most playgrounds offer few opportunities for more spontaneous fantasy play. Some have tunnels to hide out in or hills to climb. But we need to think of new features of this type.

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Silver Spring, Md.: William,

My wife and I disagree on the benefits of structured vs. nonstructured activities for our 4-year-old daughter. I feel she would learn things such as persistence, concentration, and discipline from things like taking ballet and swim lessons while also having fun. My wife feels our daughter learns those things playing in the backyard with her friends. Is there a optimal balance between structured and unstructured playtime?

William Corsaro: I think kids need some of both, but I opt toward more spontaneous play -- say 60 to 40 percent at least for preschoolers. When children get older (6 or 7) they start enjoying playing many games with rules. So I stress more unstructured fantasy play for younger kids. They learn a lot in such play and its fun!

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Alexandria, Va.: Right now my two children (6- and 11-year-old girls) are enjoying playing with each other, and I really should interrupt this special time by taking the youngest to her swim practice. I'm going to let them continue to play, but why do I feel guilty?!

William Corsaro: We always worry about doing the right thing with our kids. It's natural to feel guilty about choices. There will be plenty of time for more structured activities, especially in early adolescence. So do not feel guilty, let them enjoy their fantasies.

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New York, N.Y.: I find it interesting that children's plays follows certain themes. Let's be honest and ask the question others are avoiding- - does "playing doctor" fit into the curiosity theme?

William Corsaro: I think I know what you mean by "playing doctor" and this does occur among some kids and not others. When it occurs it is really a natural thing and we need not worry unless it becomes a frequent play activity.

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Alexandria, Va.: I agree, you don't necessarily need green space in order to play. I grew up playing in a cobble street, two up/two down, row house area in the North of England; not a blade of grass to be seen. But my best memories are from playing with the kids on that street. What I think you do need for the best type of play is companionship; something that's hard to find when children are overly scheduled with activities, or glued to their TVs and Playstations.

William Corsaro: You are absolutely right about friendship and companionship. Kids love to do things together. While many kids will have TVs and Playstations we should encourage spontaneous play with friends. Also we do know from research that children often watch TV with friends and siblings and engage in spontaneous play while watching. They are not as passive in such activities as many believe.

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Columbia, Md.: As time goes on I see more and more young children whose lives are scheduled from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m., with preschool day care, school, after care, language lessons, sports lessons, etc. It seems like children are under a similar amount (or more) of daily stress as American adults. I realize that many parents believe that they need to make their kids "competitive" -- but are there any statistics that show that highly structured children do better (financially, academically, whatever) than kids who are allowed to simply play, hang out, make their own fun? What has happened to the peace and space of childhood?

William Corsaro: Many children who have very structured lives come from middle and upper class families. They tend to do better in school and overall in our competitive society. Is this due to all the lessons or the fact that they often go to better schools, get more attention from adults, and live in supportive environments? We really don't know. However, while we should provide more opportunities for lessons and so on for poor kids, we need to let all kids have a more happy and full childhood. The best way to do that is let them be kids and enjoy their childhoods to the fullest.

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washingtonpost.com: Prof. Corsaro had to go. He says, "Thanks very much for all the questions. I really enjoyed it!"

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