Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination and physical, cognitive  , and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, and to resolve conflicts. Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce   to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity problem. Children's development is critically influenced by appropriate, affective relationships with loving and consistent caregivers as they relate to children through play. When parents observe their children in play or join with them in child-driven play, they are given a unique opportunity to see the world from their children's vantage point as the child navigates a world perfectly created just to fit his or her needs. The interactions that occur through play tell children that parents are fully paying attention to them and help to build enduring relationships. Parents who have the opportunity to look at their children's world learn to communicate more effectively with their children and are given another setting to offer guidance. Less verbal children may be able to express their views, giving their parents an opportunity to gain a fuller understanding of their perspective. Quite simply, play offers parents a wonderful opportunity to engage fully with their children. Play is essential to the academic environment. It ensures that the school setting attends to the social and emotional development of children as well as their cognitive development. It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting and even to strengthen children's learning willingness. Social-emotional learning is best integrated   with academic learning; it is concerning if some of the forces that enhance children's ability to learn are improved at the expense of others. Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-emotional learning. Compared with undirected play, play which is controlled by adults   _  .
doesn't benefit the children at all doesn't help develop leadership and group skills makes children become more active helps increase physical activity levels