When I met my friend Aishwarya's daughter, Aanya, on a Sunday afternoon, she was building an entire world in her backyard using only sticks, leaves, and her imagination. In her eyes, a stick became a magic wand, leaves turned into currency for her "shop," and an old cardboard box was her fortress. Aishwarya admitted that this was Aanya’s “free play” time—a period without gadgets, instructions, or adult guidance, which made me curious.

To put this to rest, we had a word with Dr Kushal Agrawal, Neonatologist and Head of the Department of Neonatology and Paediatrics at KVR Hospital Kashipur, "Unstructured play is much more than just frivolous fun. It is an integral part of child development. Today, children do not have much scope for free play. With the academic system, straddled by extracurricular activities and digital entertainment, the scope for unstructured play is getting smaller and smaller.". On the contrary, research reveals that unstructured plays hold a lot of benefits for children that structured activities may not have in store.

What are the Physical Benefits of Unstructured Play?

According to Dr Agrawal, "free time plays" are a great way for kids to get involved in physical activities meant for their growth. "When children are left to play freely, their movements become more varied and spontaneous," he says. Science behind this practice does support this because free play increases the levels of physical activity, which is moderately vigorous in children; this is essential in preventing childhood obesity and promoting health in general.

Other than these, the outdoor environments provide opportunities and challenges for natural development outside. While children run, jump, climb, and look around the outdoors, they can become able to develop strength, coordination, and endurance for a healthy and active lifestyle by exercising. Otherwise, structured activities often restrict children to specific movements or instructions.

How Play helps in Social and Emotional Growth of Kids?

Except for physical fitness, disorganized play lays the foundation for basic social and emotional capabilities. During unorganized play, children invent their games, negotiate roles, settle disputes, and collaborate to attain some common objectives. According to Dr. Agrawal, "such interactions build empathy, cooperation, and communication skills as children learn to express themselves, listen to others and adapt to group dynamics.".

Research indicates that children learn emotional resilience through unstructured play, navigating minor setbacks in a low-stakes environment. If the game goes sour, kids learn to solve the problem on the spot; this builds up their self-confidence as well as independence. This is a kind of play that gives children the freedom to learn by themselves and try new things without having the fear of being prohibited by others or the fear of failure.

How Parents can Encourage Creativity and Problem-Solving in Children

Freedom in play helps unlock a child's creativity and the problem-solving aspects. Most structured activities have predetermined tasks or instructions that do not develop creative thought. According to Dr Agrawal, "When children are allowed to be free, they can explore and create their own scenarios, which are meant for developing unique solutions based on critical thinking.".

Unstructured play provides children with a number of materials for play—blocks, sand, or leaves, for example—without script, so that they invent games, build imaginary worlds, and, in a very real sense, answer their natural curiosity. It has been proven that this type of play helps children to make decisions, adaptability, and innovations, qualities useful throughout life.

Is Play Holistic Approach to Child Development?

Dr Agrawal believes that unstructured play is a very important factor of all-rounded child development. "Nowadays, children's lives are very scheduled, so it's very important for the parents to remember how necessary play is", he further adds. Being freely playful would be a great support to their healthy physical development as well as social, emotional, and cognitive development.

As parents, we can encourage free play by creating an environment that encourages exploration and curiosity. What can be very impactful is giving the child a safe outdoor space and setting aside gadgets to allow for uninterrupted time to play. As these spaces tend to be counterintuitive to everything that can be seen as a hallmark of productivity and measurable progress, unstructured play allows the children to build resilience, independence, and joy.

Giving Children the Freedom to Play

More than just being childhood, unstructured play confers a wide range of benefits since children learn to manage social dynamics, solve problems independently, and bring their creativity into life which puts them better prepared for the challenges of adulthood. In this natural form of play, people lay down a foundation for lifelong skills to achieve balanced wellbeing and success.

The next time you catch your child playing carefree—maybe using a stick as a wand or a rock as a pet—take the time to be thankful for the developmental steps.

Even as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a yellow alert for heatwave and rising temperature in Delhi, the state government issued guidelines for all schools, focusing on hydration and safety measures.

The IMD has forecast heatwave conditions at isolated places in Delhi from today, with maximum temperatures expected to climb between 41 °C and 44 °C through April 24.

The guidelines issued by the Directorate of Education (National Capital Territory of Delhi) are applied to all government-aided and private unaided recognized schools. The guidelines call for:

Outdoor Assemblies: Outdoor assemblies are to be curtailed or conducted in shaded/indoor areas with minimal duration. No open-air classes are to be conducted.

Water Bell Initiative: Schools shall implement a "Water Bell" system, whereby a bell is rung at regular intervals (every 45-60 minutes), reminding students to drink water to prevent dehydration.

Display of IEC Material: IEC (Information, Education and Communication) material issued by the Health Department, Government of NCT of Delhi, on heat wave precautions shall be prominently displayed at visible locations in schools, including notice boards, corridors, and classrooms.

Awareness Sessions: Schools shall conduct short awareness sessions/briefings for students during class hours/assembly to educate them about preventive measures, the importance of hydration, and the identification of symptoms of heat-related illnesses. Immediate first aid and medical attention must be ensured wherever required.

Buddy System: Establishing a buddy system wherein each student may be paired up with another student during school hours to monitor and take care of each other's physical well-being.

Outdoor Activities: It must be ensured that students avoid outdoor physical activities.

Regular Advisory Updates: Class teachers shall share advisories of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) with parents through their respective class-specific WhatsApp groups, ensuring regular guidance and awareness regarding heat safety measures. Schools shall share daily heat wave forecasts and alerts with students through prayer time/assembly and notice boards to ensure timely awareness and necessary precautions.

Appropriate Clothing and Personal Hygiene: Parents are advised to ensure that their wards come to school dressed in light, breathable cotton clothing. They should also reinforce the importance of personal hygiene, including daily bathing, to help children stay fresh and reduce the impact of heat.

The DoE also directed each school to designate nodal officers who will be responsible for the implementation of monitoring the water bell initiative, awareness sessions, and display of IEC materials.

Heat-Related Illnesses: Symptoms And First Aid Measures

The DoE noted that the symptoms of heat-related illnesses include:

• Nausea and increased sweating
• Vomiting
• Acts or talks confused
• Muscle cramps
• Fainting,
• Weakness,
• Dizziness
• Body temperature rises to 40.5°C (105°F) or higher

First aid measures to follow if you feel dizzy or uneasy

• Drink water to rehydrate
• Move to a cooler place immediately
• Loosen clothes if possible
• Sponge with water
• If unconscious, do not force-feed or give water
• If symptoms persist, immediately visit the nearest health centre or call an ambulance.

Heatwave In India: Which States Are On Alert?

Beyond Delhi, a heatwave alert has been issued for:

• East Uttar Pradesh from April 21 to 25.
• Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and West Uttar Pradesh from April 22 to 25,
• Odisha and Rajasthan between April 23 and 25.
• Gangetic West Bengal and Bihar for April 21 and 22,
• Vidarbha from April 24 to 26.

Digital devices have become the new pacifiers, said Zerodha co-founder Nithin Kamath, raising concerns about the growing impact of excessive screen time on children's behavior and brain development.

Posting a video of cognitive neuroscientist Jared Cooney Horvath on his social media platforms, Kamath warned that while digital devices often help parents manage their schedules, they can also create long-term dependency among children.

"For most parents, digital devices have become a pacifier; it's a way to keep 'em quiet, and it's understandable, but it ends up creating a dependency in the long run," Kamath said.

In the video, Horvath spoke about a decline in learning abilities among younger generations due to the increasing screen time. Horvath said children today appear to lag behind previous generations in areas such as attention span, memory, literacy, numeracy, and executive function, despite spending more time in formal education.

Kamath noted that his son studies at a school where digital devices are not permitted, and screen use at home is restricted to 30 minutes a day. Despite these limits, the billionaire entrepreneur pointed out how quickly children become drawn to short-form digital content.

"At Kiaan's (son's) school, no digital device is allowed, and at home, we restrict screen time to 30 minutes a day. But even then, it is crazy, the addiction to reels/clips; I normally catch him browsing through that," the billionaire entrepreneur said.

Horvath said children today appear to lag behind previous generations in areas such as attention span, memory, literacy, numeracy, and executive function, despite spending more time in formal education.

Long Screen Exposure Can Impact Vision, Brain Development

Dr Sriram Simakurthy, Chief Medical Officer, Sankara Eye Hospital, Hyderabad, flagged the risk of excessive screen exposure in children with eye health.

“Children can develop particular vulnerabilities because they spend extended periods using screens without taking breaks, and they struggle to identify their symptoms before they become serious. Children who spend extended time looking at screens will face an increased risk of developing myopia (near-sightedness),” the expert said.

Prolonged screen exposure causes people to blink less frequently, which leads to unstable tear film production that results in dry eyes and eye irritation.

Dr. Sreenath S Manikanti, Clinical Director & Senior Consultant - Neonatology and Pediatrics, Rainbow Children’s Hospital, said that kids' eye health gets harmed by excessive screen exposure through mechanisms that extend beyond digital eye strain.

Also read: Can 'Eye Strain' Lead To Brain Cancer? Experts Explain

“The extended periods of near-focus work, which include watching screens for too long, create a permanent requirement on the eye to focus, which leads to visual fatigue and alters normal eye development in children. The period of visual system development happens throughout children's growing years,” the expert said.

Dr. B K Madhusudhan, Lead Consultant – Neurology, Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru, noted the impact of screen time on brain development.

“The brain development process in children gets disrupted when they spend too much time using screens because that time replaces their necessary developmental activities. The continuous use of screens results in decreased attention spans, which makes it difficult for children to maintain focus during extended periods and to complete tasks that require their full attention,” Dr Madhusudhan said.

When screen time replaces parent-child conversations, storytelling, and peer interactions, this change impacts language and communication development. These experiences help children develop vocabulary skills and reasoning abilities as well as social understanding.

“Some children also develop impulsive behavior patterns and struggle with emotional control and information processing because they spend excessive time using screens,” Dr. Madhusudhan said.

How To Prevent?

The experts advised people to balance their screen use with outdoor time.

• Take breaks following the 20-20-20 rule
• Keep a proper viewing distance
• Schedule eye examinations for children at regular intervals.

We are all aware of the fact that the use of plastics causes harm to our environment, and dangerously so. But what will happen when we realize that plastic can enter our bodies too?

As far as gynecological reproductive health is concerned, the major emphasis has always been on genetic aspects, hormonal imbalance, and even the choice of food and regular exercise. PCOS and endometriosis are both known to cause health concerns in women during menstruation and during or after sex. However, today there is another threat to the health of women’s reproductive organs in the form of microplastics and nanoplastics.

Can these enter the ovaries and result in greater damage to women’s sexual and reproductive health? The answer, unsurprisingly, is a yes. Microplastics, along with nanoplastics, have actually been detected in ovarian tissues and in follicular fluid.

Understanding The Invisible Intruder

To grasp the scale of this issue, one must first define the particles involved. Microplastics are tiny fragments of plastic less than five millimeters in size, while nanoplastics are less than one micrometer. These are so small that they remain invisible to the naked eye and can easily bypass the body’s natural biological barriers.

They can be identified as multiple polymers, including polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), and polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly used in packaging and agricultural materials. The 2024 Science of the Total Environment study, which used Py-GC/MS to confirm the presence of polymers such as polyethylene and PVC in human follicular fluid for the first time. Out of the 18 women sampled, over 80% had microplastics in their follicular fluid.

The ovaries were once thought to be a protected zone, shielded by complex filtration systems. It is now understood that these particles enter the bloodstream through food, water, and even the air we breathe. From the bloodstream, they can directly seep into the reproductive organs too. Common polymers like polyethene found in plastic bags, and polystyrene used in packaging, are now being identified in the very fluid that determines the quality and competence of a woman’s oocytes.

The Trojan Horse Effect: How Damage Occurs

From a clinical standpoint, the concern is not just the presence of the plastic itself, but the Trojan Horse effect it creates. These particles often carry Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs). When these particles lodge themselves in ovarian tissue, they trigger several harmful processes:

• Oxidative Stress and Cellular Ageing – The presence of a foreign object in the ovary triggers the production of Reactive Oxygen Species (highly reactive molecules derived from oxygen). This is a form of cellular rusting as oxidative stress can damage the DNA of the oocytes and potentially cause poor maturation and a decline in overall egg quality at an early stage of their life.
• Hormonal Mimicry – Most plastics contain chemicals that mimic estrogen. When these enter the follicular environment, they disrupt the natural signaling of progesterone and estrogen. This can lead to irregular menstrual cycles and has been linked to conditions such as Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS).
• Mitochondrial Dysfunction – Nanoplastics are particularly invasive because they can penetrate cell membranes. Once inside, they can disrupt the mitochondria, which are known as the cell’s powerhouses. Since an egg cell requires an immense amount of energy to develop and eventually fertilize, any disruption to energy production can compromise fertility. Also, plastic is eternal; it's very difficult for the human body to dissolve it and remove it from the body.

From Environment To Egg: The Journey Of Exposure

It is important to recognize that this is a cumulative issue. Human beings are exposed to these particles through multiple daily touchpoints:

• Ingestion: Microplastics shed from plastic water bottles, especially when heated. They are also found in ultra-processed foods and certain seafood. We should immediately stop using plastic containers for storing food and water, and shifting towards glass containers and copper bottles can be more beneficial both for the environment and for the body. Heat is the primary catalyst that causes plastics to leach into food and water. Switching to glass, ceramic, or stainless steel is a vital step; also, using high-quality carbon or reverse osmosis filters can catch a significant percentage of micro-particles.

• Inhalation: In urban environments, people breathe in synthetic fibers from clothing and carpets. The main component of most clothing today is polyester, especially blankets and sheets, which come in direct contact with skin. Polyester can directly penetrate our body and cause immense harm.

• Dermal Contact: Some personal care products contain microbeads or plastic-based thickeners that can be absorbed through the skin. For this, we need to be very careful before purchasing our products; it is time we start reading product labels – simply flip the product and see the ingredients listed behind.

To What Extent is it Harmful?

While there is strong evidence that these plastics are present in the ovaries, researchers are still studying the long-term, population-wide effects on fertility. This is not a reason for panic, but it is a call for preventive action.

Pre-clinical models suggest that high levels of microplastics can reduce the ovarian reserve, which is the number of healthy eggs remaining with each passing year. In clinical settings, investigators are also beginning to explore whether the presence of these particles can explain why IVF treatments sometimes fail despite profiles being otherwise healthy. The evidence points to a dose-dependent risk, which means that if exposure is reduced now, it may protect future reproductive longevity.

The Path Forward: Advocacy and Awareness

This issue now sits at a critical intersection of environmental science and gynecology. There is a growing movement to go beyond viewing infertility as a purely medical issue and start seeing it as an environmental one. Furthermore, policy-level changes are needed to regulate the use of plastic in the food and beauty industries.

The presence of microplastics in the ovaries is a quiet, invisible threat, but it can be addressed through awareness and intentional living. By making small changes today, individuals are not just protecting their own health but also the biological integrity of generations to come.