Dr. Deborah MacNamara is a clinical counsellor and educator in private practice helping parents, teachers, and childcare professionals make sense of children and adolescents in their care. She has over 15 year’s experience as a teacher and counsellor in mental health and educational settings. Deborah is a dynamic presenter and writes on a number of parenting issues and has been published in parenting magazines and newsletters across Canada. She interned with Dr. Gordon Neufeld and is on faculty at the Neufeld Institute.

She discusses how play – at least the kind that builds brains and forwards development – is becoming an endangered activity among those who need to engage in it most. Part of the problem is the premature pressure on children to learn and to become socialized. Another factor is that play has increasingly become associated with a sport or a screen activity. Probably our most significant failing is our lack of collective understanding concerning the pivotal role of play in development. We have never known more about the value of play and at the same time, we have never been so in need of this knowledge. The importance of play has become eclipsed by the urgency surrounding children’s conduct and achievements.

Education Professionals, Teacher Education, Elementary Educators, Early Childhood Education, Education Industry, Education