Quotes:
There are so many beautiful quotes about children and play, and the benefits of play. I found three that really stood out for me. The first quote summarizes my playfulness as a child and the second two, I believe, explains why play was important for me as a child and the benefits that play provided me."You are worried about seeing him spend his early years doing nothing. What! Is it nothing to be happy? Nothing to skip, play, and run around all day long? Never in his life will he be so busy again." ~Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Emile, 1762
“When kids play, they remember. They may not be aware they are learning, but they sure are aware they are having fun. When you have a good belly laugh with your siblings or parents or friends, that stays with you. And the great thing is that is comes so naturally…if we only let it.”--Rebecca Krook, play facilitator for kids with disabilities
"Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning....They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can use what they learn in new forms of play."--Fred Rogers of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
When my sister and I were very young, my parents refinished the basement of our childhood home, and in there was our glorious playroom. It was huge! On days when our parents let us play inside, (we spent the majority of our playtime outside), we would play "office." My sister, (who is now the Vice President and Controller of a bank), would be the boss and I would be the secretary. The typewriter was my absolute favorite thing to play with during "office." (When we were done playing "office", we played "school." I guess we're both in the fields we were destined to be in!)
In my childhood neighborhood, there were four children who lived across the street from my sister and I. We spent countless hours and afternoons playing with them. Our favorite thing to do was recreate our favorite movies. The most popular being Peter Pan and The Little Mermaid. The hammock was used to "fly" during Peter Pan. We would run and jump, landing on our bellies and sending the hammock swinging. I remember the spinning feeling I would get in my head when I would look at the ground and imagine that I was soaring high above it.
I was lucky enough to grow up in a safe neighborhood with a lot of other children around. During the summer, we would all get together and play games in the street or in the lawns behind our houses. Kick the Can was a favorite, as was Capture the Flag, (or bandanna). We would play Kick the Can right in the middle of the road in front of my house; we used landmarks for bases. Capture the Flag was played on strategically mapped out paths behind our houses, extending all the way down the road on both sides. Summer was my favorite time of year because of these gatherings.
Reflection:
Growing up, there was no question as to whether my sister and I would play or not. The only time television was an option was on Saturday mornings, or later in the evenings, (but not during the summer). Shauna and I loved to play with our dolls, play in our playhouse, on the swing set, and behind our shed where there was a lot of mud. When I played alone, I enjoyed making friends with animals. I would catch frogs and toads and build them little, (not always successful), homes in our window wells. I like to sit by the gutter with my dog, Jessie, and imagine that my reflection was a secret friend I had. My favorite place outside was the swing set my father built us. I would swing for hours and sing songs from The Little Mermaid at the top of my lungs, (with my mother watching from the kitchen window.)
Our parents not only encouraged our play, they enjoyed playing with us. My family was, and is, very close and I was lucky to have parents that wanted to take part in our play, instead of using it as a simple distraction. We played board games together, and my mom would often enter our imaginary worlds with ideas of her own. I remember my parents attending birthday parties for our cabbage patch kids, and judging matchbox car races. Of all the time spent with them though, my favorite nights were when my father would play the guitar and we would all sing. We would act out the songs, sometimes put on our dress up clothes, and dance all over the living room together. I would say that I am greatly blessed with my parent's understanding of children and the type of play that we needed for healthy development.
Play, in this day and age, is vastly different from the play I participated in as a child. Children now have options that I did not have as a child. The internet has revolutionized play, and most likely not in a positive way. Children can spend hours on the computer playing games, reading, learning new facts, etc. Even though some learning can take place through television, computers, and video games; children are not using their own imaginations and therefore are not developing those patterns of thinking.
In addition to growing technology, children cannot play as freely as I did as a child. I was able to run around in my neighborhood and play in the road at all hours of the day without a worry. Now, the media has made our society fearful of dangerous factors that may threaten the safety of our children. Although there is some validity in these factors, I feel that parents don't allow their children to have much private, exploratory play time. Children need moments like these to develop relationships with their peers and the world around them. I definitely spent a great amount of time alone, or with my sister, outside. Those moments provided me with an opportunity to build a connection with the natural world and to really get to know myself.
Play should never cease. I feel that it's not only healthy for children, but it's necessary for adults to stay happy. Adult play is definitely different than children's ways of playing, but it doesn't have to be. Art is always an outlet; whether with crayons and a coloring book or oil paints and a canvas. I try to find ways to "play" every day. It can be a simple as knitting, drawing, or going for a mini adventure in the woods.
As said by Benjamin Franklin, "We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing."
In addition to growing technology, children cannot play as freely as I did as a child. I was able to run around in my neighborhood and play in the road at all hours of the day without a worry. Now, the media has made our society fearful of dangerous factors that may threaten the safety of our children. Although there is some validity in these factors, I feel that parents don't allow their children to have much private, exploratory play time. Children need moments like these to develop relationships with their peers and the world around them. I definitely spent a great amount of time alone, or with my sister, outside. Those moments provided me with an opportunity to build a connection with the natural world and to really get to know myself.
Play should never cease. I feel that it's not only healthy for children, but it's necessary for adults to stay happy. Adult play is definitely different than children's ways of playing, but it doesn't have to be. Art is always an outlet; whether with crayons and a coloring book or oil paints and a canvas. I try to find ways to "play" every day. It can be a simple as knitting, drawing, or going for a mini adventure in the woods.
As said by Benjamin Franklin, "We don't stop playing because we get old; we get old because we stop playing."
