Rough and Tumble Play

Are you troubled by the rough and sometimes aggressive way children play and interact? Do you worry about injuries and bullying when children are fighting? Is it challenging to try and restrict physical play?  You may be surprised to learn that experts believe that educator attempts to limit big body and rough and tumble play may be jeopardizing children’s development and well-being in many ways. Children don’t just want to play rough and tumble, they NEED to play fight to learn very important skills to read social cues and self-regulate in order to become socially competent. How can educators support this important play while also assuring fairness and safety? Learn the difference between play and real fighting and the skills children need to learn to participate successfully in big body play.