My Connections to Play

A three year old child is a being who gets almost as much fun out of a fifty-six dollar set of swings as it does out of finding a small green worm.  ~Bill Vaughan

When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.

Fred Rogers

This week's focus is play.  In my own childhood, play was part of every day life.  I grew up in a neighborhood full of children my age and we would leave our homes early in the morning with only the instruction from our parents of "Be home by dark."  Even then, we would often end up having impromptu sleepovers or late night games at someones house.  My family was one that played cards every time we gathered for an event.  I learned Canasta and other complex card games at an early age and have the fondest memories of sitting around a table, not a television!  Truth be told, our family was the last in my peer group to have a color television and our old black and white had lost its knobs so we turned the channel with a wrench!  We also had the privilege of having family in Door County, WI, where nature was our playground.  We would disappear into the woods behind my grandma's house for hours, building forts and throwing rocks down at the shore of Green Bay.

This is my cousin Amy.  We are about 2 years apart in age and we were very close growing up.  Even though she and her family lived in WI, our families made a point to visit several times a year for holidays or long weekends at a hotel.  In middle school, we began the tradition of spending a month or two during the summer at each other's houses.  We'd take turns and have the best time playing all day, going to the pool, the parks, and pretending the most amazing adventures.  One time, we packed up our Cabbage Patch babies and some snacks and went to my mom's car that was parked in the garage.  We were going to Florida and we took turns "driving".  I don't know exactly how long we were in that car, but it is a memory that we talk about when we get together to this day!

Play today is grounded in the same principles, but because times have changed, play has changed.  There is a greater fear of the environments in which children play, so often parents are not willing to allow them to go out on their own.  The presence of technology and video games has changed the way children interact with one another.  There is less imaginative play and more competitive play.  There is a greater focus on academics early in life and so children are losing the opportunity to apply knowledge they are gathering in school to real life situation.  It breaks my heart to hear of 4 and 5 year old children that are over scheduled and go from school to dance or soccer, instead of home to play with their family or to the park.  Those activities have their place in a child's life, but I feel that parents think it is a better use of their time to be in an organized event instead of simply hanging out in the backyard looking for bugs or going to the park after dinner. In an article by Kenneth Ginsburg, he discusses the pressures parents feel to make sure their child is prepared for school and life and that the concept of "building a resume" for the college admissions process through both academic and other activities is starting at younger ages (Ginsburg, 2007).  My hope for young children today is that they find joy in what they choose to play and that families realize that it is the time they spend together, not necessarily the activities they choose that makes the greatest impact.  A secure, empty car, two dolls and some snacks were all Amy and I needed for hours of imagination and fun.  The other piece that I hope parents begin to realize is the they do not always need to facilitate their child's play.  Children are so capable of creating worlds of play on their own or with a close peer that will make lasting memories.

As you can see, play has been part of my life because my family saw the value in it.  As much as we protested about that old black and white television, the fact that my dad refused to change and often required us to go outside and play or help with a project has made a great impact in my life.  As an adult, my family still sees the importance of play and relaxing.  We go on a vacation at least once per year and my cousin Amy and I still get together often (though we do not go to Florida with our dolls anymore)!

Reference:

Ginsburg, Kenneth R. (2007).  The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics, 119, 182-191. doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2697.