The art of play

I’ve heard lots of complaints from various parents recently that their children don’t really know how to play and that they are exhausted from trying to keep their children entertained.

Isn’t that sad? When did it become a parents job to entertain their children?

It’s almost like play has become a lost art  these days …with too many distractions & toys that require batteries and little imagination…and parents that take on the job of entertaining instead of supervising.

I am talking about the kind of play that doesn’t require batteries, or directions. I’m talking about the kind of play that gets dirty or wet or lets you be somebody else in a far away land.

 

Playing make believe

               &

making their own

fun is good for their

souls.

I believe  that play is the most important tool of learning in the early years….and even beyond.  I believe that actual playing…the kind that is using the imagination and not being guided or interfered by adults is the very best kind of play.

There is nothing like digging oneself deep into the trenches of play…the kind of play where time is lost and the world around you is your playground…the kind where at the end of the day, you need a bath.

 

Give a child(ren) a box, some rocks, some sticks, some water, and an empty bucket and if an adult doesn’t interfere by telling them what they should do with these things, they will be entertained for hours. I believe the more a child plays in this manner the better they get at it.

I believe that tv’s, computers, and video games need to be unplugged and used less. Now mind you I am not against these things as I think they have a time & place, but I do think they can steal away time, imagination and the ability to think for yourself, if not used with balance.

The physical playing that isn’t about winning or losing but having fun…like running, jumping, hiding, twirling, pretending, somersaults, kicking & throwing balls, chasing and all other forms of physical fun seems to be lost to sitting in front of a screen that entertains.

Do we ever wonder, like I do, if this is one of the reasons we have a child obesity problem in the US?

I have heard of schools cutting out recess in order to have more time in the classroom. I shutter to think how taking away this time for play could in the end hurt their learning.

The sound of playing is beautiful. Yes, sometime it’s loud and crazy but really it’s so much fun.

Have you ever just stopped and listened to kids playing? Listen to their laughter and chatter, it will surely make you smile. Or have you just stopped and observed children lost in play? Could you see their smiles and the way their eyes danced? Doesn’t it make  you smile and remember what it was to be a child and so free ?

 

 

To have a recorder to record the priceless conversations.

 

One of the greatest gifts we can give a child, is to get down to their level and play with them. Not all the time, or they don’t learn how to play by themselves, but sometimes.   Playing helps us to not forget what it means to be a child and helps us see the world through their eye’s. Us playing, shows them that we are willing to meet them where they are at.

 

There is something so perfectly beautiful about seeing adults playing in wild abandonment with children…to see the joy and the freedom and their smiles.  

Do you allow yourself to play? When is the last time you allowed yourself the fun of play?

Well, I am off to work and then when I get done with work, I am grabbing up the little’s and my daughter and going off to play for a few days at the cabin up north. It’s our last days of summer and soon school will begin.

Until next time, love & hugs, Lori