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Real play--play that is initiated and directed by children and that bubbles up from within the child rather than being imposed by adults--has largely disappeared from the landscape of childhood in the United States. There are many reasons for this, such as the long hours spent in front of screens each day or in activities organized by adults. In addition, preschools and kindergartens that used to foster meaningful play and exploration often spend long hours on adult-led instruction instead. All of these are the outer manifestations of something deeper--modern mindset that does not value play and is even afraid of it. Some fears are easy to identify. People freely admit they are afraid of accidents in play and want to minimize risk. There is also a widespread fear of "stranger danger." The current mindset in the U.S. leads Americans to create a life that is as safe and risk-free as possible. They want life to be ultra-organized, and they want to be in charge at all times. No wonder people love to see young children sitting still and working on worksheets or at computer screens. It seems that people have gone out of their way to clutter their children's lives with things and activities that deny them the time and space for playing freely. In this article, the author discusses the importance of play on the children's lives and urges adults to move forward and set aside their fears of play. She also urges teachers to share play memories with each other and with parents to help create a strong play culture in their school or child care center.

The article presents a discussion on the report data that indicates that children in public kindergartens in the U.S. do not have enough time to play due to other educational activities, adapted from the March 2009 report of The Alliance for Childhood entitled "Crisis in the Kindergarten: Why Children Need to Play in School."

The article presents the author's view on the importance of play during childhood. She believes that letting children play with each other is very important because it will enhance their normal development, learning and imagination. She then presents her comments on the children in 20th century who prefer to play with computers and high-technology toys than to play with other children. She also presents some ideas in restoring children's interest in play.

Discusses the Waldorf approach to education for creative thinking. Development of creative thinking; Crisis in thinking in American public schools; Waldorf education's cultivation of all-around human qualities; Phases of creative thinking education.

The article presents a discussion of peace education intended for children, adapted from the book "Stop the Next War Now: Effective Responses to Violence and Terrorism."