Science & Technology

How Play Helps a Kid’s Brain Grow | Jesse Ilhardt | TED

A little bit of playtime can have big benefits for a child’s developing brain, like a superfood — but adult participation is a crucial ingredient for best results. Early-education leader Jesse Ilhardt makes the case for you to put down the phone, pick up the make-believe tea cup (or that blanket-superhero cape) and take the…

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A little bit of playtime can have big benefits for a child’s developing brain, like a superfood — but adult participation is a crucial ingredient for best results. Early-education leader Jesse Ilhardt makes the case for you to put down the phone, pick up the make-believe tea cup (or that blanket-superhero cape) and take the time to experiment with imagination during kids’ most formative learning years.

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79 Comments

  1. Cj G

    December 28, 2022 at 12:04 pm

    *First I win*

    • Moza G Smith

      December 28, 2022 at 12:10 pm

      I second that

    • Ahrorbek O'rinboyev

      December 28, 2022 at 12:12 pm

      Your the first crazy

    • A Human

      December 28, 2022 at 4:22 pm

      There was a race?

  2. Moza G Smith

    December 28, 2022 at 12:11 pm

    This makes me happy to hear somebody talk about it

    • Mama Luigi

      December 28, 2022 at 6:57 pm

      Agreed Play is really important for Kids.

  3. Prachurjya Das

    December 28, 2022 at 12:14 pm

    🔥🔥100% agreed,

  4. Marcus (Ati)

    December 28, 2022 at 12:16 pm

    German Kinds play the whole Day in the Kindergarden …

    • D Roma

      December 28, 2022 at 1:00 pm

      Next you’re gonna tell me they also have universal Healthcare

    • Natewatl

      December 28, 2022 at 4:48 pm

      @D Roma ??!? Huh? Where did that remark come from?

  5. ٠٠٩٦٧٧١٧٥٩٨٤٧٠نا1زحه يمنيه

    December 28, 2022 at 12:17 pm

    ,رسالتي إلي كل مسلم “يااخواني قال الله عزوجل : يَٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُواْ لَا تُبۡطِلُواْ صَدَقَٰتِكُم بِٱلۡمَنِّ وَٱلۡأَذَىٰ كَٱلَّذِي يُنفِقُ مَالَهُۥ رِئَآءَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤۡمِنُ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلۡيَوۡمِ ٱلۡأٓخِرِۖ فَمَثَلُهُۥ كَمَثَلِ صَفۡوَانٍ عَلَيۡهِ تُرَابٞ فَأَصَابَهُۥ وَابِلٞ فَتَرَكَهُۥ صَلۡدٗاۖ لَّا يَقۡدِرُونَ عَلَىٰ شَيۡءٖ مِّمَّا كَسَبُواْۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهۡدِي ٱلۡقَوۡمَ ٱلۡكَٰفِرِينَ}}}ياناس ياامة محمد اني اقسم بالله علئ كتاب الله اني لااكذب عليك ولاانصب ولااحتال اني بنت يمنيه نازحين بسبب الحرب اناواسرتي عايشين اناوامي واخوتي سغار والدنا متوفي الله يرحمه ومامعنااحدفي هذاالدنيا يقف بجنبنا في هذا الضروف القاسيه ومامعي اخوان كبار اناالكبيره في اخوتي ولكن انابنت لااستطيع مثلك ان اروح اشتغل بين الرجال واصرف علئ اسرتي والله ثم والله يااخي انناقدلنايومين محرومين من لقمت العيش ومعي اخوان سغار انظركيف حالتهم اقسم بالله يااخي انهم خرجومن البيت للشارع وشافو الجيران ياكلو راحووقفوعندبابهم لجل يعطوهم ولوخبزه يابسه يسدوبها جوعهم والله الذي له ملك السموات والارض انهم غلقو الباب وطردوهم ورجعويبكوايموتومن الجوع مااحدرحمهم وعطانهم لقمت عيش والان لومااحد ساعدنا بحق كيلو دقيق اقسم بالله اننا انموت من الجوع فيااخي انادخيله علئ الله ثم عليك واريدمنك المساعده لوجه الله انشدك بالله وبمحمد رسول الله يامن تحب الخير واتساعدني ولو ب500ريال يمني ان تراسلي واتساب علئ هذا الرقم00967717598470 وتطلب اسم بطاقتي وترسلي ولاتتاخر وايعوضك الله بكل خير فيااخي انت رجال إذاشفت اسرتك جاوعين تعمل المستحيل من اجل تامن لهم ألاكل ولكن انابنت عيني بصيره ويدي قصيره ليس لي اب مثلك واخواني سغار شوف كيف حالتهم وساعدناوانقذناقبل ان يطردونا في الشارع نتبهدل او نموت من الجوع انااقسم بالله الذي رفع سبع سموات بلاعمدوبسط ألأرض ومهداني لاأكذب عليك بحرف من هذا ألرساله واني ماطلبتك إلئ من ضيق ومن قسوت الضروف والحال الذي احنافيه أناوسرتي نسالك بالله لولك مقدره علئ مساعدتنا لاتتاخر عليناوجزاك آلّلّهً آلّــفُ خـيِرالله يفرجها/عليكم: ‘:”:”:”:”؟/؟/

  6. Suny12

    December 28, 2022 at 12:21 pm

    Immediate gratification is what kils our society and woke culture loves this. Delayed Gratification is what makes people develop and evolve !!!

    • Justine

      December 28, 2022 at 12:44 pm

      Enough with the « woke culture » narrative – that kind of comment « kills » growth and shuts down communication. I also believe we’re in the middle of a swype culture – which is related to your comment on instant gratification. Kids need more play and interaction and less screen time – adults too. Cheers.

    • adam cimand

      December 28, 2022 at 2:11 pm

      I would have hit the like button on the parent comment if it wasn’t for the woke line. Virtue signaling to your “camp” is what kills our society.

    • Natewatl

      December 28, 2022 at 4:35 pm

      🤔 An example of the quest for instant gratification is seen in the insertion of the weak-minded term “woke” into this conversation. What a tragic exercise in foolishness. If suny signifies *state university of ny,* then the remark besmirches the NY university system.

    • Medusa

      December 28, 2022 at 6:12 pm

      “Woke”!!! Lmfao you’re hilarious. Everything about the right is instant gratification. It’s your whole thing. Even your religion is based on it.

  7. Suny12

    December 28, 2022 at 12:23 pm

    Ted….such a disappointment.

    • A Human

      December 28, 2022 at 4:21 pm

      ?

  8. Sarah Marie

    December 28, 2022 at 1:17 pm

    Too many parents care more about keeping up appearances with fellow parents & school staff because they (the “adults”) have something to prove to the world & as a result, the actual healthy development of their children takes a back seat. Keeping up with the Jones’s amounts to less than a hill of beans, if it means that your childs healthy development & growth has to take a back seat to your ego. Convenience is not part of the package when you become a parent, unfortunately technology has enabled the overly scheduled parent to feel no remorse for relying heavily on digital distractors. A tablet is not equivalent to real time interaction with your children, it’s time to reprioritize our childrens actual needs. Counterproductive Unrealistic expectations really need to become a thing of the past regarding early education. A kid doesn’t need to be taught how to enable play based learning, maybe we should be letting them lead the charge in terms of early learning. I imagine toddler led “focus” groups 🤣
    Sadly though, even with the evidence that exists to the contrary, some individuals refuse to care, if it can’t be measured by biased standardized testing, then the belief of many will remain, that their exists no value or legitimacy in it.

  9. Hadija Brahim

    December 28, 2022 at 1:19 pm

    It’s true and I believe it’s because we as adults didn’t get to play as much as we wanted to when we were kids.. even as adults we don’t “get” to play as much as we want to!

    • Natewatl

      December 28, 2022 at 4:46 pm

      Carve out some time to play.

  10. Ella Jacob

    December 28, 2022 at 1:59 pm

    @Suny12 why the disappointment?

  11. Neiva Almeida

    December 28, 2022 at 2:36 pm

    Bom dia. Meu Deus que fala maravilhosa. Sou professora de Educação Infantil e recentemente uma estagiária que acompanha um aluno com TEA em minha sala de aula disse para meus alunos: crianças, parem de brincar porque a professora vai ensinar algo importante agora. E eu disse a ela: aqui na minha sala de aula, brincar é a coisa mais importante para os meus alunos. Porque descobri na prática que as brincadeiras com ou sem intermediações estimulam um grande número de habilidades nas crianças. E que esses estímulos são fundamentais para seu desenvolvimento integral. Observando as crianças brincando faço importantes anotações sobre como intermediar as brincadeiras para auxiliar no bom desenvolvimento dos meus alunos. Obrigada por nos apresentar um conhecimento tão importante sobre o desenvolvimento Infantil.

  12. HAZIEL

    December 28, 2022 at 2:44 pm

    That could be why my brain didn’t develop.

  13. Jeff Go

    December 28, 2022 at 2:58 pm

    People grow up and forget what is was like playing as a kid. So they do what they know and that’s playing with a device so that’s what they give their kids.

  14. Geisiane Darlei

    December 28, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    ♥️

  15. burxonjonbek

    December 28, 2022 at 3:15 pm

    Opa gap bo’lishi mumkin emas deb hisoblayman

    • Dimitros

      December 29, 2022 at 1:38 pm

      Opa gangam style

    • burxonjonbek

      December 29, 2022 at 2:33 pm

      @Dimitrosopa – sister

    • Dimitros

      December 29, 2022 at 2:38 pm

      @burxonjonbek
      huh?

  16. Teddy Dotson

    December 28, 2022 at 3:53 pm

    Having to not be told to do these things somewhat 🤔

    • Teddy Dotson

      December 28, 2022 at 3:54 pm

      I shared this to my Facebook page…

  17. Thato Mofolo

    December 28, 2022 at 4:22 pm

    No Cap 🧢🧢🧢💯

  18. Natewatl

    December 28, 2022 at 4:30 pm

    Windblown dress & ball field maintenance in the the background are mortal enemies of this presentation. At least I can look away and listen.

  19. Gaasuba Meskhenet

    December 28, 2022 at 5:33 pm

    i wish i could afford the tech to make educational games….

    • Sareaesque

      January 3, 2023 at 12:36 pm

      the tech is getting more and more affordable for digital edutainment games

    • Gaasuba Meskhenet

      January 3, 2023 at 12:40 pm

      @Sareaesque is it? I hadn’t noticed in the two years of struggling to qualify for disability. I wish I could seek asylum between states

    • Sareaesque

      January 3, 2023 at 12:49 pm

      @Gaasuba Meskhenet it depends what you mean by the tech, there are more engines which are being made open source or available for free for digital games

    • Gaasuba Meskhenet

      January 3, 2023 at 12:52 pm

      @Sareaesque I mean hardware

    • Sareaesque

      January 3, 2023 at 12:56 pm

      @Gaasuba Meskhenet ahh, I misunderstood your original comment then, I apologise.

  20. Josh B

    December 28, 2022 at 6:06 pm

    play is just another word for learning

    • Jan Kowalski

      December 30, 2022 at 5:41 pm

      Generally, I agree but with some conditions. Some people when they hear the sentence “play is good for learning” misinterpret that sentence and think that all types of playing develop their children’s brains equally well. That comes to the situations when parents buy noneducational games like GTA or cs for their children and they leave their children alone with such gadgets to have fun with them. I don’t say that there don’t exist any computer games, which are good for kids because that’s not true, the example of such a game is Minecraft, where kids can develop their creativity, but I think that after all parents should bother to choose the right educational gadgets and plays for their kids.

  21. This isn't allowed

    December 28, 2022 at 7:00 pm

    Sleep, healthy food, play = healthy brain development

  22. John Ring

    December 28, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    “Children, who play life, discern it’s true laws and relations better than men, who fail to live it worthily, and then think they are wiser by experience; that is, by failure. ” Thoreau

  23. John Ring

    December 28, 2022 at 8:16 pm

    “Children, who play life, discern it’s true law and relations more clearly than men, who fail to live it worthily, but who think that they are wiser by experience, that is, by failure. ” Thoreau

  24. Ok Su

    December 28, 2022 at 8:18 pm

    She is no more not tight enough…

  25. Ismail Hamza

    December 28, 2022 at 9:12 pm

    I was at a retirement seminar and the speaker spoke on how he quit his job after he made well over $950,000 PROFIT within 3months he invested $120,000. I just began investing and i will really appreciate any tips or helpful guide.

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      December 28, 2022 at 9:15 pm

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    • Sandra Barbs

      December 28, 2022 at 9:15 pm

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    • Ralph Mikovic

      December 28, 2022 at 9:15 pm

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    • Ismail Hamza

      December 28, 2022 at 9:15 pm

      @Sandra Barbs Ok, just found his website, impressive, Thank you

  26. martymorse2

    December 28, 2022 at 10:01 pm

    Physical Education used to involve a lot of play and problem solving activities. Now we see Physical Education as a process to prepare our children for competitive sport where all that matters is winning. Too many parents push their kids down a road where they all feel their kid is a future Olympian or Einstein. We need to get back to activities and play based learning with really young kids often creating their own idea of play. Let’s stop going down the road of preparing our children for future head injuries playing soccer or football. Let’s stop this madness and the philosophy that only the strong matter. That might be applicable for a senior in High School but not for the kids under the age of ten. Let’s get back to letting kids use their imagination and prepare them through activities of learning while interacting with their siblings, teachers and family.

  27. Explimp Life Skills

    December 29, 2022 at 6:31 am

    As i have seen most of the educational methods and approaches influenced culturally, but I love the way the lady expresses naturally about the natural learning process of human nature.

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  28. Bb Bb

    December 29, 2022 at 7:09 am

    22Mil followers and this is the best you can do?!
    Amazin!

  29. None of your Damn Business

    December 29, 2022 at 7:46 am

    *Forcing kids to put a cloth on their mouth, isn’t helping 🙄🤡*

    • Dimitros

      December 29, 2022 at 1:37 pm

      It actually helps a lot, it facilities learning and curiosity

    • None of your Damn Business

      December 30, 2022 at 8:43 am

      @Dimitros *it doesn’t and there is proof!*

  30. Indian foody foody

    December 29, 2022 at 8:21 am

    Very good

  31. Christian Henderson

    December 29, 2022 at 1:24 pm

    When is right time for kids to watch t.v. Or computer

  32. James kirkuo

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    *Investing in crypto now should be in every wise individuals list, in some months time you’ll be ecstatic with the decision you made today*

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    December 29, 2022 at 5:55 pm

    Men try to make humans. I have a child who is mine in all shapes and forms except biological. I am shaping him to be a good man. His own father is a good friend of mine, and he has his issues, and so do I. Together, we are making the next generation.

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    December 30, 2022 at 3:47 am

    Fun over competition, imagine that!

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  38. lee peter

    December 30, 2022 at 11:53 am

    good

  39. 慕醬_和你講故事

    December 31, 2022 at 1:21 am

    遊戲可以不只是遊戲!我們在玩樂中構思、創造屬於自己的遊玩方式
    願更多家長、教師為孩子提供更多「遊玩」的機會
    讓孩子可以隨著自己的心發掘喜歡的遊戲🥰

  40. Black Flame

    December 31, 2022 at 4:52 am

    Good teachers and parents make all the difference in molding a young mind into a productive, intelligent, happy, and positive-thinking individual. What so many people lack is self control and discipline.

  41. Desmond Richardson

    December 31, 2022 at 10:27 am

    yeast infection and correction

  42. The Rogue of Space

    January 2, 2023 at 7:45 pm

    Brilliant presentation, thank you for sharing this with us! Cheers

  43. LeilaLamb

    January 3, 2023 at 7:31 am

    By the time they get to 5 years old, it’s a bit too late.

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