According to a National Post article, changes in our society, standardized tests, the new toy market, and over-protective parenting are "threatening outdoor and make-believe play."

Seemingly harmless online pet-ownership games are described as "immersive advertizing." The latest toys (even legos!) are accused of being too specific, leaving little for kids to imagine. Classrooms are filled with drills, rather than higher level learning. Everyone, it seems, is stifling natural play, including worried parents and daycare centers.

These issues have decreased children's freedom for imaginative play in which "A park bench can become a doctor's office one moment and a hospital bed the next, or a grocery store five minutes later" which develops "very abstract, very high-order thinking."

I can limit TV and computer time and public school is still a distant worry, but as a parent who just spent an evening at the ER, I'm unsure just how protective I should be. Shouldn't jumping in puddles be a natural right of childhood? Well, not on a basketball court that can be slippery (seems obvious now). Luckily, no head injuries this time.