ROCHESTER, NY—Research has long demonstrated the importance of play for children’s social, physical, and emotional well-being. A new article in the American Journal of Play argues that play is equally as important to older adults and could be key to fighting the loneliness and isolation that often accompanies the aging process.
Authors Janine Dodge, Maxwell Hartt, Rachel Barber, Nishant Dave, Marley Gryfe, and Victoria McCutcheon argue that through play and playfulness, older adults can create, maintain, and strengthen relationships—all of which have been proven in other long-term study to lengthen life and bring joy.
In the article, the authors analyze the content of the World Health Organization’s Global Database of Age-friendly Practices for building and maintaining relationships. They also examine the play policies and actions that some cities and communities have implemented to help make their community “a great place to grow old in.”
Despite the research showing the benefits of play among older adults, their analysis of these practices and policies, “…suggest that play for older people is not yet highly valued by public actors.” They argue for an increased urgency for researchers, practitioners, and leaders to focus more efforts and attention on play and older people.
The complete issue of the American Journal of Play can be read freely online. Additional interviews and articles include:
- A Lifetime of Creating Play Environments: An Interview with Jay Beckwith
- The Eighth Rhetoric of Play by Miguel Sicart
- Developing an Observational Tool to Support Play-Based Teaching by M. Elizabeth Graue, Fujiuju Chang, Erica Ramber, and YJ Kim
- Teaching Systems Thinking Through Game Design Curricula: The Case of Hexacago Health Academy by Madeline Quasebarth, Jessica Wilks, Yul Ailea Stites, Sophie Knifton, Vanya Manthena, Robin Michelle Cogdell, Mason Arrington, and Patrick Jagoda
About the American Journal of Play
The American Journal of Play is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary publication that serves as a forum for discussing the history, science, and culture of play. Published three times each year by The Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York, the Journal includes articles, interviews, and book reviews written for a broad readership that includes educators, psychologists, play therapists, sociologists, anthropologists, folklorists, historians, museum professionals, toy and game designers, policy makers, and others who consider play for a variety of reasons and from various perspectives.