Case For Make-Believe: Saving Play in Our Commercialized World by Susan Linn

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Synopsis

Building on the success of her previous book, Consuming Kids, Linn argues that children more than ever need the time, space, and tools essential for creative play. In modern America, creative play is under siege since it is seen as a threat to corporate profits. At the heart of the book are gripping stories of children at home, at school, and in a therapist's office, using make-believe to grapple with real life issues from entering kindergarten to the death of a sibling. Explaining how and why we need to nurture make-believe, the book will appeal to parents, teachers, therapists, and anyone who cares about children's well-being.

Publishers Weekly

A ventriloquist and psychologist, Linn (Consuming Kids) claims that the act of make-believe is disappearing. In her impassioned plea for its survival, Linn reveals that play has many benefits, including helping kids develop problem-solving, critical thinking and social skills. Play also enables children to explore their inner feelings, cope with challenges and promotes emotional healing. Linn reveals how she uses puppets to encourage deeply troubled kids to explore their feelings, pointing out that imaginative play helps all children cope with such issues as separation, anger and fear. Tragically, Linn claims, play is on a downswing, replaced by TV time and highly marketed media-linked toys and electronic media that discourage real creativity. In fact, despite the American Academy of Pediatrics' recommendation to prohibit screen time until the age of two, a study Linn cites reveals that 40% of infants under three months are regular screen viewers. The director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Linn claims that the demise of play is a public health problem requiring an urgent campaign. She concludes with ways parents can incorporate creative play, while acknowledging the challenge of swimming against the powerful media tide. (May)

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Biography

Susan Linn is Instructor in Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and Associate Director of the Media Center at Judge Baker Children's Center in Boston. She is also Director of the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, which she co-founded. She lives in Boston.