The Power of Playing to Combat Fear: An Interview With Joanna Cemore Brigden
With expertise in play and child development, Joanna has a wealth of knowledge in supporting children and parents. When asked how parents can nurture their child’s mental health, she suggests to simply play with them. In this podcast, she discusses the importance of play for children’s development, especially in the post COVID-19 era. She addresses how the collective stress, anxiety, and fear of parents, educators, and society at-large affects children’s interactions with family members and peers. Joanna argues that children can work through their anxiety in play, as play is connected to emotions and eventually their well-being. Her message to parents is that “they [children] do not need extra things” other than play. Her hope for the pandemials is that educational institutes will address their need for more time to play.
Resources
- Ginsburg, K. R. (2007). The importance of play in promoting healthy child development and maintaining strong parent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697
- Gray, P. (2013). Free to learn. Basic Books.
- Lisitsa, E. (2020, November 3). An introduction to emotion coaching. The Gottman Institute. https://www.gottman.com/blog/an-introduction-to-emotion-coaching/
About the Interviewee
Joanna J. Cemore Brigden, PhD, is an associate professor in the Childhood Education and Family Studies department at Missouri State University. She passionately defends the rights of every child to play through her teaching, research, and service. She is also the editor of The Association for the Study of Play’s newsletter and co-editor of Play, Policy, and Practice Connections e-journal. Contact: JoannaCemore@MissouriState.edu
Suggested Citation
Ruffner, A. (2022, September 1). The power of play to combat fear: An interview with Joanna Cemore Brigden [Audio podcast]. imagine. www.imagine.musictherapy.biz