Researchers surveyed the views of 1,172 parents across the US about the relative educational value of free play, guided play, and games. The results showed that parents tend to rate free play as most educational. However, their opinion differs from that of experts, who emphasize the effectiveness of guided play with a learning ‘goal’. This means that work needs to be done in educating US parents about the difference between free and guided play with their children. Child psychologists have long known that play is essential for children’s cognitive development because it boosts their social, ph…