It’s an interesting question: Does children’s play influence career choices? Or, do interests already present in childhood influence how kids play? Like the chicken or the egg, which comes first?
In this series of posts on ways children play, several parents are contributing descriptions of how their child plays. One preschool boy is really into pirates, another loves playing in his kitchen. Jumping on a trampoline both inside and outside is a favorite way to play for another child, and one 2-year old girl is beginning to pretend play, either as the baby or the mommy.
A dad sent in this look at how his son plays, “K usually likes to play by himself. He loves Lego and anything related to cars or monster trucks. Occasionally, he will play with pillows, kitchen tools or make stuff out of the recycle bin.”
K’s dad isn’t an architect, but he does have lots of building projects, like furniture, home renovations, and play structures in the backyard. It’s no surprise that K likes “making stuff” too.
Many kids all over the world, girls as well as boys, love to play with Lego. According to an article on the Lego site, “99% of architects played with LEGO bricks.” (More Than Child’s Play: Favorite Toys Can Provide Clues to Future Career Choice)
Jeremy Pelletier is an architect and he didn’t just play with Lego as a child, he still plays with it now. On a recent television interview, he confessed that the estimate of a quarter million bricks is low. There could be double that now. He says that Lego was one of his favorite toys and “probably, one of the reasons that I’m an architect today.” He hopes that his kids will also love Lego, but he’ll be okay if they don’t.
Building and construction toys encourage both logical thinking and creativity. Although some kids will play with blocks and Lego more than others, they are great toys for all kids. How they play may give some clues to answer the question: does children’s play influence career choices? Does your child play with building and construction toys?