From the author: Regular author of the magazines “Happy Parents” and “Psychology” Some parents believe that school is the threshold beyond which play loses its value and meaning and becomes unnecessary “pampering”. But this is not true at all. Yes, serious school life has begun, but childhood continues. Most children enjoy playing until they are 11-12 years old. When a child goes to school, his need to play remains almost as strong as it was in preschool age. And despite the fact that studies and school life now come first for him, in his free time he prefers playing to any other activity. Moreover, games have an additional function - they help the child to get distracted and relax, to take a break from school stress. Often, children take toys with them to school to play with classmates during breaks or after school. In joint games, they not only “reboot” after intense study, but also find a common language with other children and find out who is interested in what. So the game continues to maintain its socializing role, because many children still feel more confident in the space of play than in their studies and school rules. It is not for nothing that elements of play are included in teaching in elementary school. This language is much more understandable to a child. Therefore, the daily routine must include time for free play and creativity. It should be noted that computer games do not help the child to rest and relax, since they stimulate and excite the nervous system. What do primary schoolchildren play? They still prefer role-playing games, both alone and with friends. That is, children come up with a story on the go, assign roles and become fully involved in this process. In comparison with games for preschoolers, the themes change and the plots become more complex, but the essence remains the same. Famous children's psychoanalyst D.V. Winnicott said: “In play, and perhaps only in play, a child or an adult has complete freedom of creativity.” This is a process that allows a person to be creative. What happens in the child’s psyche when he is immersed in a game? First of all, it gives free rein to the imagination, creating a gaming reality. Why do you need imagination? It makes it possible to expand the boundaries of the familiar and familiar, mixing things known to the child and fiction. A small amount of knowledge about the world is compensated by constant, at maximum “speed”, work of the imagination. Sometimes children’s games smack of plagiarism (they feature famous fairy-tale characters and repeat familiar plots), but elements of genuine creativity and novelty often appear. One way or another, every child masters the ability to transform familiar images and create something of their own. This important skill helps him solve new problems; he learns to anticipate the results of his actions precisely thanks to his imagination. In addition, imagination is the basis of abstract thinking, which is absolutely necessary when mastering many subjects, for example, mathematics. When a child is captivated by a game, he can give free rein to his emotions; there are no “social filters” in the game that force him to hide some feelings. This means play becomes a safe channel for expressing feelings that a parent or teacher may consider inappropriate. First of all, this concerns aggression. Boys, as a rule, express aggressive emotions directly by playing war, simulating fights with toys, or arranging various competitions. Girls usually play out the theme of aggression through the insidious, cunning or vindictive behavior of the characters. But, of course, the game not only allows you to channel “bad” feelings, in it the child can also express his emotional needs, for example, for care, love, attention. The beauty of the game is that anything can happen in it, everything is permissible, which means, even in a fantasy field, you can compensate for the lack of something. This is the healing function of the game, because for the psyche it makes no difference whether something happened in the inner space or in reality. In any.