Swedish toy company encourages play instead of work
Press Release 2/4 2014
Through free play, children develop life skills and abilities that they cannot learn in school. Adults also have a lot to learn by accepting more play into their daily lives. That is why the Swedish toy company BRIO encourages people to never stop playing. In the Facebook contest, "Liberate a friend", BRIO gives 500 euro to a number of winners who will have the chance to take time off from work and spend the time playing instead.
The ongoing contest runs on BRIO’s Facebook page until june 1st. By nominating their Facebook friends, stating the reasons why they deserve to be released from the obligations of adulthood, people can offer their friends the chance to win 500 euro and stay home from work to play.
"It's a fun way for us to focus on something that we think is important. Free play is being given less and less of a role, despite the fact that we know it is central to the development and creativity of both children and adults. We want to encourage people to keep their inner child alive and never stop playing", says Sophie Elvefors, Deputy Managing Director of BRIO.
Nominate your friends to the contest: http://bit.ly/1dwpkSK
The importance of free play
In recent years there have been several reports indicating that children are no longer able to play freely to the extent needed in order to thrive and grow as people.
In November last year, the Cambridge researcher Dr. David Whitebread was awarded the BRIO Prize for his research report, "The Importance of Play".
Whitebread claims, for example, that the increasingly structured day at kindergarten and school prevents children from developing emotional and social skills to the same extent as previous generations.
Adult perceptions of potential dangers are creating an overprotective pattern that inhibits children’s abilities to discover, push boundaries and learn to handle risks in their own, playful way.
"Free play is not only important for letting children enjoy themselves and feel good. It strengthens their ability to empathise and be creative and teaches them how to see things from different perspectives. We want to draw attention to the fact that even adults benefit greatly from accepting more play into their daily lives. Free play enables us to continue learning new things and to develop," says Sophie Elvefors.
About BRIO
For over a century, our driving force has been to spread joy among children around the world. We want to create happy childhood memories where the imagination is allowed to flow freely. BRIO is a Swedish toy brand that creates innovative, high-quality and well-designed wooden toys that give children a safe and fun play experience. The company was founded in 1884 and is a part of the BRIO Group. The Group has more than 200 employees and is represented in over 20 countries. For more information, please visit www.brio.net.
For further information:
Francisca Kertzscher, Marketing Manager BRIO AB, +46 702 01 53 97,
francisca.kertzscher@brio.net
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