The Evolution of Play

Childhood today is radically different than it was just a few generations ago. Before the coronavirus pandemic, kids’ busy schedules included school, homework, chores, sports, music lessons and other activities. Those packed schedules often left out one key element that is crucial to growth and learning — play. That’s according to Dorsa Amir, a postdoctoral researcher and evolutionary anthropologist at Boston College. Amir has studied the Shuar people of Ecuador, a non-industrialized society, and observed startling differences in how Shuar children and American children spend their time. She tells us how childhood has changed drastically, and how that affects kids today.

You can listen to The Evolution of Play online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

The Evolution of Play is an episode from Innovation Hub by WGBH.

This episode is 17:48 long.

This episode was published on Oct 1, 2021.

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