Researcher James Herzog's new study found that roughousing, or "crazy time!" as it's known in my house, can actually be good for kids, particularly when the rough play is between parent and child.
Though the write-up focuses mostly on father and son play - because only boys like to wrestle, right? Jeez... - the research shows that kids who regularly engage in physical play with a parent learn self-control, how to deal with a wide range of emotions, and how to adapt to a constantly changing situation. Herzog and other researchers found that "a father's playful and vigorous interactions
force a boy to closely observe his father's facial expressions and body
language to figure out his father's moods. A dad's play can help his
son learn how to become a good manager of emotions. When, in a loving
environment, a father coaxes his son to cope with interactions that
will test his limits and stretch him emotionally, the boy will develop
confidence to handle similar tests in challenging environments."
It irks me that this article completely overlooks the fact that girls like rough-and-tumble play just as much as boys do. When Dad comes home, my girls clamor to get to him for a hefty dose of physicality - spinning, jumping, flipping, climbing, wrestling, the works. Are the girls not reading the same physical cues that the boys are? Is there less value in this kind of play between a father and a daughter? What about a mother and a son? Or mother and daughter?
