“Play is the work of the child” is an oft quoted maxim from Maria Montessori, echoed by Jean Piaget, “Play is a child’s work,” and even Fred Rogers, “Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” Play is not a chore, nor is it the opposite of work; Stuart Brown in the book Play: How it Shapes the Brain, Opens the Imagination, and Invigorates the Soul, says the opposite of play is depression.
