My Connections to Play

Quotes about play:

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

-Plato (Greek philosopher)

"You can do anything with children if only you play with them"
-German Proverb

Essential Play Items:

Baking might not seem to be a play activity, but I learned more about my family during these times than any other time. Baking was my chance to "pretend play" with real tools and food.

When I was drawing, my imagination could go anywhere.

 Some of my favorite memories was when my mom was playing this game outside with me and my siblings.

My mom was one of the biggest supporters for my play time. She played games with me and my siblings any chance she had and encouraged us to get out of the house on all the sunny days (which aren't too many in our area unfortunately). My siblings also supported my play as they frequently allowed the "little sister" join in the games they were playing with their friends. I remember tagging along with my older siblings everywhere they went; through the woods, in the river, or just across the street to ride bikes.

Today, I don't see as many children running around and just being kids. I see many stuck in front of the television, from their own choice or the parents. I don't hear many parents telling their children to go outside and play. This lack of physcial activity I believe leads to some of the health issues that children frequently have. The toys frequently advertised also are more sedentary games rather than the toys that get kids outside or just up and moving. I also see lots of children and paretns buying into the advertised toys rather than recognizing that creative games are just as fun. That is, games and toys that can be created at home use more of the child's imagination. I feel there is a lot of truth in teh statement that you can buy a child all the toys in the world, but they still just want to play with the box.

Parental involvement is so important to a child's play. Without my mother playing alongside me, I don't believe I would have gained as much knowledge about the activities we were doing, like baking. It is also important for the parent to engage in this play time as well. This is where they will gain insight into their child's development firsthand. Another reason play is so important for both children and adults is that it is the chance to let go of worries and to just have fun. Everyone needs to have the chance to relax and just be a kid again.