The Dark Side of Play

Play may be problematic in that it causes exclusions and arguements. A child may not know how to play the game or may not want to play while everyone else does. Now that child will feel left out or pressured into playing that game she did not want to in the first place. Also, playing may lead to teasing or bullying. Children do not know better so they are more prone to say whats on their mind which may be hurtful. A specific example of exclusion that happened in my life was when attending birthday parties everyone always wanted to play truth or dare. I never felt comfortable playing so I would always opt out and I was usually the only one who chose to do so. As a result, I also felt left out. Furthermore, when playing two children may disagree about the rules of the game. This creates tension between the two children and soon enough the people in the game begin to choose sides. This may be hurtful because again children tend to tease each other without thinking. For exmaple I've seen other children suggest another way to play the game only to get belittled by the other children playing in the game. All in all play is beneficial as these events can help a child learn how to deal with conflict but feelings will also unfortunately get hurt.