The Art of Roughhousing
Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It
By Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D. and Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
Good Old-Fashioned Horseplay and Why Every Kid Needs It
By Anthony T. DeBenedet, M.D. and Lawrence J. Cohen, Ph.D.
NO RUNNING! NO SHOVING! NO YELLING! You see it everywhere: Active, rough-and-tumble play—what some might call “roughhousing”—has become marginalized within our society. New schools are being built without playgrounds. Gym classes are being shortened; recess periods are being eliminated. Kids are knee-padded and helmeted to within an inch of their lives. Is it any wonder children retreat to “virtual horseplay” through video games?
Doctors Anthony T. DeBenedet and Lawrence Cohen are here to shake things up (literally). In The Art of Roughhousing (Quirk Books; $14.95; May 17, 2011), they explain through scientific studies and firsthand observations why creative, physical activity nurtures close connections, solves behavior problems, boosts confidence, and more. They also present more than forty-five illustrated activities—drawing from gymnastics, martial arts, ballet, traditional sports, and even animal behavior—for kids and parents to enjoy together, everything from the “Flying Fox” to the “Magic Carpet Ride.”
When it comes to play, The Art of Roughhousing debunks today’s motto of “Safety Only” and encourages healthy relationships and growth through positive physical contact. These delightful games are fun, free, and contain a number of surprising health benefits for parents, too!
About the Authors
ANTHONY DEBENEDET, M.D. , is an energetic, adventurous dad. He lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with his wife, Anna, and their three daughters. Through his various experiences, Anthony has built a solid knowledge base in both the physical and medical aspects of this type of play.
He is an avid athlete and in 1995 was named by the Detroit Free Press as a Michigan High School Athletic Association Athlete of the Year for his performance in basketball, track, tennis, and golf. Anthony also has had three years of training in judo and worked for one year as an exercise coach for children with autism.
Dr. DeBenedet graduated from Duke University’s Pratt School of Engineering with a Bachelor of Science in Engineering (B.S.E.) in biomedical engineering, earning triple Dean’s List distinction. There, he also performed cranial-injury research on helmet safety for the National Football League. He earned his Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) degree at the University of Virginia’s School of Medicine, receiving the university’s highest senior leadership award and invitations to three leadership/clinical honor societies, including Alpha Omega Alpha (National Medical Honor Society), the National Leonard Tow Award for humanism in medicine, and the Richard Bowman Award for clinical excellence. He is currently employed as a board-certified physician in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Michigan Health System and plans on specializing in gastroenterology.
LAWRENCE COHEN, PH.D., is a licensed psychologist, author, and consultant living in Brookline, Massachusetts, with his wife, Liz, and their two teenage children. He specializes in children’s play and play therapy.
In addition to his private therapy practice, he is a speaker and consultant to corporations, public and independent schools, and a teacher of parenting classes and classes for daycare teachers. He appears frequently on radio and television.
Dr. Cohen attended Haverford College and received his doctorate in clinical psychology from Duke University. After an internship at Tulane University, he began a research and private practice career in Madison, Wisconsin. His treatment innovations have included the first groups in the country for husbands and boyfriends of sexual abuse survivors, as well as one of the first therapy groups for male survivors of sexual abuse. All his work—with children, parents, couples, abuse survivors, and families—has pointed him toward writing about human connections.
Lawrence is the author of Playful Parenting, an award-winning book from Ballantine in its eleventh printing about nurturing close connections, solving behavior problems, and encouraging children’s confidence. Dr. Cohen is also the coauthor, with Michael Thompson and Catherine O'Neill Grace, of Best Friends, Worst Enemies: Friendship, Popularity and Social Cruelty in the Lives of Boys and Girls, and Mom, They're Teasing Me: Helping Children Solve Social Problems. His regular column in Nick Jr. magazine was the winner of the 2003 Golden Lamp award from Education Press. He is the author of numerous published articles in the Boston Globe, professional journals, and popular magazines, and he has presented his work at professional conferences, workshops, and classes.
**I was sent this awesome book for review. I wasn't paid to post this. I cannot wait to tell you all about it.**
