I watch my daughter hard at play.
My youngest child, in her own world,
her imagination fired
as she creates a realm out of building bricks.
It’s been this way with children
since children learnt
to stack one brick on top of another,
and another, and another.
This is a recognized stage
in the development of children.
But children grow and become adults,
and adults build societies,
which build nations.
And nations build ages
through the generations.
Each age looks back at the last
and thinks how childish their actions.
Children learn through play.
They develop all areas of their brains,
and cognitive development takes many forms.
They learn physical skills,
how to use hand-eye coordination,
how their muscles and bodies work
in their space.
They learn the rules of society,
how to ‘be social’,
how to play fair,
how to share.
They learn about their emotions,
how to comfort their playmates,
when they are in pain or distress – building relationships.
A simple game of building bricks? You may ask.
Can it do so much for a child?
And what of humanity?
If it doesn’t sit with its playmates
and learn to build together,
how then will the next age look?
But my daughter doesn’t play
with wooden bricks or coloured plastic
that needs to be felt, manipulated, balanced,
fitted together carefully;
judged by touch, shape, weight, space.
She doesn’t have a friend sitting next to her
sharing the bricks in a pile on the floor in front of them,
playfully sharing the space,
knocking down each other’s towers
and laughing about it,
helping each other build it up again,
seeing who can build the highest,
crying when a friend accidentally
pokes the other in the eye with a brick
and being reprimanded by an adult
for not being careful.
Comforting the victim
with soft sorrys and a gentle hug;
as it has always been
with children at play.
But she doesn’t build a tower and see a castle – no!
Her play space is an electronic screen.
The bricks are animated.
Her playmates chat happily enough to her
through cyber space – from the other side of the world,
into her ear-piece.
They laugh together,
invite each other into each other’s brick-built worlds.
But they aren’t just building towers.
They are mining the minerals.
Crafting the raw elements into substances of real value
and building real cities – with purpose – with vision!
The world she creates is incredibly complex,
her architecture revolutionary!
But what has she lost?
Is she indifferent to her playmates feelings
when she can’t see him
or touch his hand as he reaches for one of her bricks?
Can she empathise with him?
These children when they play together at such a distance
sound so angry!
They make selfish moves,
‘kicking’ each other out of each other’s games
if the other upsets them.
They swear at each other through the headsets,
killing their avatars with computerised swords and axes
and then laugh about it with each other.
When did building become war?
Or has it always been so?
Has their innocent game become corrupted?
How easy it has become to put weapons in the arms of babies!
© Laura Crean 25th April 2015