The Significance of PLAY in the Normal Development of Children

By Margaret Lowenfeld

1938

When the adult uses the word ”play” in his description of children or his thoughts about children, it is either with a tender and gentle meaning, or as an antithesis to work— “All work and no play. Makes Jack a dull boy.” When the Anglo-Saxon however, uses it for himself, it becomes a matter of weight and seriousness. “Who after all is playing for Surrey this year?” is a sentence which in a cricket or football community would arouse the hottest and most serious discussion. When used by an artist, whether an artist in words or an artist in colour, “the play of light and shadow” becomes a matter of serious professional thought.