I hear the same comments time and time again - and sometimes apologetically as teachers explain to me that they "have" to let the boys be rough because "that's how boys are." And even though there's a wealth of research supporting that boys do naturally play this way more often than girls do, my hope is that we can encourage and support more big body play in girls as well. Understanding the benefits of the play will (hopefully) help us to not just allow the boys to do it, but to celebrate them as they throw themselves around. And if our predominantly female ECE workforce will be active, too, I think we'll see more girls joining in.

Great questions, Kelli - I'll try to answer all of them.The most essential component - in my opinion - is the active supervision rough body play requires. If all supervising adults can embrace it and observe it closely - only stepping in to coach, offer verbal support, reiterate the rules - children can play this way for more extended amounts of time. And, when teachers are supervising the play this closely, they can gain a tremendous amount of information about children's social, emotional, and language development. The best age? Body play begins at birth, just not in as vigorous or boisterous a fashion. It begins as simple exploration, and then gains momentum as toddlers gain strength and motor control. During preschool, children begin to play roughly in a more collaborative, organized way, and by school-age, their games usually have rules and paramaters they create. As far as the fear of becoming too rough, children's rough play actually becomes too rough about 1% of the time - a lot less than most adults would think! And children are very adept at recognizing the limits of their rough play - meaning, it looks "too rough" to us but to the children, it is just rough enough. What we have to look for (while closely supervising) are: facial expressions (are the children smiling?), willingness (are the children there as willing participants, or is one child coercing another?), and time in engagement (do they keep coming back for more, or do they try to run away from the play?). I hope that answered your questions - thanks for asking them!

My best suggestion is to try and go outside as early as possible before the air quality decreases. You can also provide lots of body play indoors - just make sure the indoor environment has been prepared to accommodate it. You probably can't do much chasing, but you can roll around indoors, and crawl through, over, and around objects. You can also set up wrestling bouts indoors. But for all that great running, I'd recommend trying to do it as early in the day as possible.

Even though an infant's development follows a predictable sequence, when each infant achieves different levels of development varies according to a multitude of circumstances. That makes it impossible to say when certain types of big body play would be appropriate for a particular baby. What I can say is that infants will begin to interact with their own bodies almost from birth. and will enjoy interacting with yours as well. Until an infant has established neck and shoulder strength, any type of tossing or dropping would be too dangerous. For these youngest infants, sway them back and forth while supporting the head and neck, or swing them back and forth in a blanket swing where you and a partner hold the ends. You can exercise an infants legs bicycle-style while the baby lies on his or her back - and you can do this before an infant has neck strength. Once the baby can roll side-to-side, and especially when the infant is learning to crawl, provide objects to reach for, crawl over and around, go over, etc. Padded nests give infants lots of opportunities to play this way. Place infants in close enough proximity to each other that they can explore each other's bodies. Older infants - perhaps eight months and above but...again, individual development varies so this is just a yardstick - will enjoy rolling down a padded or carpeted incline, riding "horsey" on your thigh, knee, or ankle, or being gently dropped into a pile of warm laundry (think towels and blankets - not socks and underwear). Infants are gaining so much information from each and every experience, and big body play gives them chances to learn about cause and effect, opportunities to learn body awareness and body control, and it helps build a foundation of empathy as infants are learning how certain experiences make them feel. Thanks for a great question! I could talk about babies all day :)

You make so many great points, Suzanne - thank you! The beauty of this big body play is that is is accessible to children regardless of developmental level in that if a child lacks language skills, big body play helps build them. If a child lacks social skills, big body play helps build them, too. And for children who lack physical skill, big body play provides them opportunities to learn about their strength and physical capability, and it can do so even without participation from other children - a child can play vigorously and boisterously all by him or herself. What I love about this play is that it encourages interaction and collaboration, but for children who may be new to the play style - or just plain afraid of it - they can still participate by rolling down a hill all alone, or by rolling off of a big yoga ball onto the ground. The collaborative play offers the greatest language and social interaction benefits, and I've found that children who become comfortable with big body play through interations with objects, or through music and movement big body games, the more "rough" play with the language and social benefits often follows.

Hey Missy - Great question! The benefits of rough play are so rich and varied - and not gender-specific at all - which makes it a great play style for both boys and girls. One of the best benefits of big body play is its support of children learning non-verbal communication: how to read signals, what facial expressions mean, how I use my gestures to tell you to stop, or keep going. Big body play also helps children know how strong they are, as well as how to hold back this strength when the play requires them to do so. As a mother of two sons and a daughter, it was very important for me to help all three of them learn that they are strong and in control of their own bodies. Boys do tend to play this way more than girls do, but we know that girls do enjoy this play style and will play this way when supported. Our job is to model the vigorous play for them, and encourage it in a variety of situations both indoors and outdoors. The book goes into a lot more detail about what this modeling and supporting can look like, so I hope you'll have a chance to read it :)

Hi Suzy - One way to include children with special needs in classroom settings is by introducing some big body games into these settings. I use common finger plays, and then with the help of the children I turn them into big body games. Some of them can get pretty rowdy, so having classroom space to be on the floor is great, but children can also do some of them while standing in one place, or while seated. For a child with a physical delay, the body movements may not be as big or vigorous, but with the assistance of another child, this child could participate. And for children with emotional delays, the physical contact and the ability to achieve a goal with another child - like two children pairing up to create a big spider in "Eensy Weensy Spider" - can provide emotional gains. I hope that answers your question in some way. Research shows us that children with physical disabilities crave big body play as much as their typically developing peers, so I am thrilled that you are seeking ways to include it in your classroom.

Hi Kizzy - I can see from your question that you understand the importance of administration supporting classroom practices if these practices are going to be successful. You also understand that children need consistency in our expectations of their play and in the limits we provide for them in it. With big body play, close and active supervision is key. Watch the children's facial expressions as well as what you hear them saying to each other and doing to each other's bodies. If a child starts to grimace, or if friendly tags start to become slaps, intervene just long enough to clarify. I might say, "Jennifer, Steven is frowning. See if he wants to stop wrestling" or, "Simon, Randy was tagging you to go next. If his tag was too hard, say, 'That hurt!' instead of slapping him."

Chapter Two discusses in length the many benefits of big body play to a child's overall development. In a nutshell, language development is enhanced by first allowing children lots of opportunities to learn and understand non-verbal communication. Big body play also utilizes a lot of spoken language as children develop and start to play more organized rough games with rules. Their cognitive development is enhanced as the very vigorous play allows them to be more attentive and attentive for longer periods of time than if they had not had access to the play. Even though there is a belief that rough play riles the kids up, it actually calms them down. All the physical contact involved in rough play also helps regulate brain chemicals that can lead to more calm and focused learners.

Administratively, you'll find tools in Big Body Play to help you. The Appendix includes a Letter for Families that explains why a program embraces and supports this play style. There are also sample policies for children birth - three, and for children three and up. The FAQ section also specifically addresses some commonly asked questions about big body play. I hope you'll use these tools to help build support for big body play in your program!

Thanks so much for your enthusiasm about this topic, Katie! I am obviously very passionate about it as well. To answer your question, I am pleased to say that the overwhelming majority of people I've talked with about this topic of rough play and its benefits are as excited about it as I am. Most of the early childhood teachers I've met and heard from are so glad to be validated in their belief that this play style has to have benefits or all children wouldn't spend so much time playing this way. There have been a few skeptics, but these teachers and family members are usually skeptical out of a deep care and concern for children's safety. I have found that when all of us who care for children understand why big body play is good for children and how to actively supervise to encourage and sustain it, we get to feel good about supporting a wonderful part of early childhood.

For years, my male ECE students have told me they are chastised while doing their student teaching for being "too active" with the kids, for "riling the kids up." One of my hopes for this book is that it will mobilize women to not only embrace high activity levels in children, but to become more active ourselves. Don't get me wrong - there are lots of very active women teachers. I think we could use a few more, though, and the more active we become, the more natural it will be to support these high activity levels in our children, too. Thanks for your positive comments and for helping spread the word that very rough play is essential to children's development.

As a private music educator, I've had parents specifically ask me not to play "GAMES" with their children as they think it wastes valuable learning time. The first time this happened I was so shocked I didn't respond. Now, I say, "Actually these are learning activities that will teach your child valuable skills." I usually add something about greater retention and inspiration. I think it's just a mis-understanding of what this whole idea of using our bodies to learn is about.

Hi Melissa - You have touched on one of the most important and- sometimes- most challenging parts of any early childhood teacher's job: how to document and communicate the learning we "know" is taking place. In this regard, communicating the benefits of big body play can be approached in the same way you would communicate the benefits of block play, or of playing dress-up in the house corner. There is an example of a documentation panel in the book that shows how two boys engaged in a wrestling bout on the playground are are also showing mastery of several standards used in Georgia to demonstrate kindergarten readiness. I have found that documentation panels that
1) use photos of children actively involved in their play,
2) provide captions that include teacher observations and children's own statements about their play, as well as
3) list the learning standards that the children's play is helping build mastery towards
all help us communicate the value of big body play - and all children's play, really - to colleagues, administrators, family members, and community stakeholders.

Hi Reggie - Thanks for a great question! Part of the challenge all early childhood teachers face is the one of demonstrating the connection between children's learning in the context of play and how this learning-through-play helps them achieve accepted standards. Think of a particular big body activity that children might engage in—for example, wrestling. At first glance, wrestling may not seem to support many state standards for students. Here's an example of how Big Body Play in the form of wrestling meets some standards for first graders:

• Demonstration of both speaking and listening skills (e.g., following a
three-part direction)
• Beginning to understand the principles of writing
• Measuring attributes of concrete objects
• Understanding the measurement of time
• Demonstrating competency in motor skills and movement patterns
needed to perform a variety of activities

A supervised wrestling match can help first-graders develop mastery
of these standards. For example, you could involve students in creating the
wrestling ring, using rulers and tape measures to determine the size. Have
students develop the rules for the game and write them down on posterboard.
Appoint a timekeeper to watch the clock and let participants know
when the bout is over