According to neuroscience professor Sergio Pellis, who studies play behavior in humans, rodents and primates, the give-and-take in unstructured play teaches children essential social skills by allowing them to create the rules for themselves, negotiate and take turns.
At Brooklyn Wild we see children coming together to create and negotiate the rules to impromptu games like Witches' Adventure or Monster Hunt. We see them choose Rock, Paper Scissors as a fair way of deciding who goes first. And we see them support each other during races they've decided to run, when only one person can come in first place.
By giving them the space to play freely with peers, we see them rise to the challenge of working out problems for themselves.
You can read more about Prof. Pellis's recent talk at the University of Lethbridge here.