Dr. Peter Gray - Play Deficit Disorder

Dr. Peter Gray, American Researcher and Scholar, Research Professor of Psychology, and Author of Free to Learn will present Play Deficit Disorder: A National Crisis and How to Solve it Locally Research in the United States has revealed a dramatic decline in children’s free play - especially their free outdoor play - over the past several decades. This decline in play has been accompanied by dramatic increases in childhood depression and anxiety and by dramatic declines in creativity, internal locus of control, and psychological resilience.
 
In this talk, Dr. Gray will present the logic and evidence behind his claim that the decline in free play is a, if not the,  major cause of these deleterious effects on children’s well-being. Dr. Gray will also describe some of the social forces that have led to the decline of play and suggest ways by which families, schools, neighborhoods, and communities can restore children’s opportunities for free play.