The Lego Foundation has put £4m into a play professorship at Cambridge university. The first incumbent will be chosen in April Photograph: Alamy

Children should learn mainly through play until age of eight, says Lego

legohttp://www.theguardian.com/education/2016/mar/15/children-learn-play-age-eight-lego

Lucy Ward

Tuesday 15 March 201607.00 GMT

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Parents are squeezing the role of play out of their children’s lives in favour of the three ‘R’s as they try to prepare their offspring for a competitive world, according to the head of Lego’s education charity arm.

A lack of understanding of the value of play is prompting parents and schools alike to reduce it as a priority, says Hanne Rasmussen, head of the LegoFoundation. If parents and governments push children towards numeracy and literacy earlier and earlier, it means they miss out on the early play-based learning that helps to develop creativity, problem-solving and empathy, she says.