Allowing your child  to just play, is as beneficial, if not more so than creating structured environments.

Just being immersed in their environment, is how children learn – and play is the natural method of learning. Observe your child when they’re just playing. Watch how they role play with imaginary friends, hold conversations with their toys, create people and places. It’s fascinating! And what’s more is, they’re learning!

A toddler playing with a ball is learning about temporal displacement, velocity, gravity, and a whole heap of spacial awareness. A toddler climbing is stimulating their vestibular system, and learning how to operate their body in their environment.

The geniuses of yesteryear weren’t sat in front of educational DVDs, they didn’t attend classes to enhance their intelligence, infact, they just existed. Einstein didn’t use flashcards!

Encouraging your child to learn, can be as simple as letting them just play – and I imagine from their point of view, it’s a whole lot more interesting and fun.