My Connections to Play

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” 

                                                                                                ~George Bernard Shaw

“Life is playfulness…we need to play so that we can rediscover the magic all around us.”

                                                                                                ~ Flora Colao

“If you never did you should.  These things are fun and fun is good.”

                                                                                                ~Dr. Seuss

                               

When I was young my parents encouraged play by allowing us to go and play by ourselves.  We were always being told “Why don’t you go play.”  I am one of four sisters and we were always encouraged to go and play together.   We enjoyed playing hide and go seek outside and during many family events we would have a large game with many people.   We played a lot with Barbie dolls and our Cabbage Patch Kids.  We also played outside on our swing set.  We liked to play board games with each other.  When we were young it was games like Hungry Hippos and Hi Ho Cherry-o and as we got older the games became more intellectual like Trivial Pursuit and Boggle.  We still enjoy playing board games with our families.  Our parents encouraged play by letting us play alone, but they were also involved in our play a great deal and often made it a family event. 

I think play today is similar because there are still games that you can play that I played as a child.  I think children also still enjoy playing outside with games like hide and go seek and sport related games.  I think that another similarity is that play is still fun for children when they are able or encouraged to be involved in it.  I think one of the differences in play today is that it is not encouraged as much as it used to be.  Children are spending more time in front of electronic equipment and video games and are not engaging as much in imaginative play.  Parents find this kind of “play” easier because they are busy as well and do not have much time to “play” with their children.   I also feel like safety is an issue in play today.  I know that when I was a child we were allowed to go outside and ride our bikes to our friend’s house who lived 4 miles away.  We played outside all the time alone.  Today I feel like I have to be outside with my children if they are out there and I am not comfortable with having them ride around the block because of the potential for violence or danger.  My hope is that children are able to find a way to play no matter what situation they live in or where they live.  I hope that children are still encouraged to play and that it is still important in their lives.  My hope is that children will learn through play and love to learn because of it. 

I think that play is very important in early childhood because it aids in the development of many skills.  I don’t think that the importance stops there.    I think that it is important in every stage of our lives.  I completely agree with the quote at the top of this blog because it is play which keeps us young at heart.  I know that some of my happiest moments are those moments when I am fully engaged in play with my children.  I can see the look of joy on their faces and I can feel it within my heart.