AHS16 - Ancestral Health Symposium 2016

Play is an essential component of cognitive, physical, psychological, and social/emotional development. The healthy physical nature of play, and more specifically the proprioceptive aspects of play, are also contributing factors to independent self-regulation and the emergence of efficient adaptive skills. Evidence suggests that children of our distant ancestors engaged in significantly more ‘physical’ play than current generations. As such, the recent evolution of play skills demonstrates an alarming decrease in healthy physical play opportunities and therefore proprioceptive influences on self-regulation. Today's children often have difficulty developing coping skills and adaptive behaviors. As a result, academic performance, social skills, and self-regulation are affected. Proprioceptive input as an aspect of healthy play has declined significantly since our ancestors raised their young. The importance of proprioceptive play and strategies for naturally and organically increasing those opportunities for children will be discussed.