Playmates Matter! Why Matching Kids with Similar Ages Boosts Development

Pictured in the hospital bed below is 12-year-old Piedad Martínez del Águila. She was the oldest of ten children born to a Spanish working class family. Piedad, being the eldest, had to take care of her younger siblings. She never was allowed to play — all her days were spent doing chores and caring for the family’s youngest members.