The Magic of Unstructured Play

In a world full of schedules, activities, and endless to-do lists, it can be easy to forget the value of something simple: time to play.

Unstructured play is the kind of play where children get to be the creators. There isn’t always a right answer, a finished product, or a specific goal. Instead, children explore, imagine, problem solve, negotiate, experiment, and follow their own curiosity.

As pediatric therapists, we know that play is more than “just play.” These moments build important skills - from creativity and flexibility to communication, motor skills, emotional regulation, and independence. And sometimes, the most meaningful learning happens when children are given the freedom to take the lead.

Boston Ability Center occupational therapist MacKenzie Rickert reflects on her own childhood experiences with unstructured play and shares how those moments shaped her - both personally and professionally.

"When I was little, I participated in lots of structured activities - swimming, ballet (that didn't last long...), gymnastics, t-ball (clearly not my calling), etc. These were lots of fun and great learning experiences, but some of my favorite memories from childhood were moments of true UNSTRUCTURED play. 

I lived on a cul-de-sac in Arizona with 10 kids my age. Every afternoon until dinner, garage doors flew open and what came next was up to us. There were 'clubs,' lightsaber fights, games of four square, trees to climb (that seemed huge at the time), car washes, and forts. There were make believe towns, toy boat sailing in the street gutters, cots pulled into the cul-de-sac to ring in the new year, and races with whatever the current mode of transportation was at the time (with our group graduating through the ranks of trikes, training wheels, bikes, roller blades, and the dawn of Razor scooters!) There were also attempts - attempts to fry eggs on the sidewalk, attempts to dig a giant hole in my neighbor's backyard (which would obviously convince his parents to get a pool), attempts to tie yarn all the way around the house, and attempts to prepare for when 'the uncle who steals hats' came to town with full group training sessions. Some days, my mom would pull out old, broken electronics along with some tools and it was up to us to [safely] dismantle them, negotiating who got which pieces and taking home our treasured finds in small paper bags. Other days, an assortment of recyclables (the 'Barney Box') was pulled out to the driveway to spark creativity and invention. My baby dolls and Barbies were forgiving guinea pigs for my questionable contraptions of roller coasters, ziplines, and bungee jumping and my brother spent HOURS creating fake aquariums in the driveway.

Of course, the fun also came balanced with childhood fights (big and small), skinned knees, boredom, accidents (I still contend that the baseball that went through the garage window wasn't my fault), arguments, hurt feelings, and more. Truth be told, most of these memories don't include my parents being there. Don't get me wrong - anyone who knows my safety-loving mom would be willing to bet their life savings that she was there every step of the way. But in my little mind, it was our childhood gang running the show without grown-ups to intervene. Unknowingly, through feat and failure, we were learning to navigate social situations, handle disappointment, take safe risks, be resilient, get out of our comfort zone, find fun in the moments of boredom, problem solve, apologize (when a towel bar ultimately did not hold up as a gymnastics bar as well as I would have liked), pursue areas of interest, and so much more. 

There are, of course, SO many benefits that come from structured activities that cannot be dismissed. In a world that is increasingly "busy" and full of demands, however, I am incredibly grateful for these moments and memories of unstructured play. At the BAC, although our therapy sessions are somewhat structured and always goal-driven, we nonetheless recognize the importance of a child-led approach. We know that motivation is key to making gains in any area of development and is often found during the unstructured moments that allow children to explore and communicate their true interests. After all, my aquarium-creating brother became a dolphin trainer, and I might argue that my roller-coaster riding baby dolls now closely mimic many scenes in the swing-filled BAC gym. Equipped with the knowledge of what truly sparks joy and curiosity for each child, our therapists can then expertly match these interests to a child's goals to promote progress."