MY CONNECTIONS TO PLAY

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 - American children’s television host

1928–2003

You can discover more about a person in an hour of play 

than in a year of conversation.

Plato - Greek philosopher

Growing up as an only child, life could be boring in the confines of the house.  That could have explained how I became a bookworm at such an early age, as I would lose myself in the story of someone else and my imagination would soar beyond the walls that surrounded me.

So, any opportunity that I got to play outside or with other children, I would utilise to the fullest.  After school, playing on the jungle gym was priceless.  We could be pirates sailing the oceans looking at the passing world from the crow's nest.  We could be mountain climbers, racing to the summit and challenging each other to be the first to scale the heights of Mount Everest.  We could be soldiers in a castle under siege, trying to keep the enemy out at all costs.   Our teachers let us be at recess, lunchtime and after school.  As long as we obeyed the bell, we were given free rein to just play and have fun.  School days bring back memories of fun and enjoyment.

An even younger memory is playing blocks with cousins.  Blocks, though simple in nature, had so many possibilites.  Limited numbers of blocks and many children are a receipe for trouble.   However, I don't have memories of adults intervening when we as children had squabbles over the blocks.  Instead, they let us resolve our differences in our own manner, as long as there was no bloodshed.

Today, I watch my 6 year old and attempt to re-create the memories that I had.  However, a busy schedule, distance from friends and endless homework for my child always seem to take precedence to a run in the park or just unsupervised play with friends.   Life appears to be more complicated and also with issues of safety, it is hard to let her just run outside unsupervised.  The innocence of youth is certainly being lost, but I am fighting for it.  I always try to choose simple board games or playing outside over watching television or playing games on the computer.

Play should never take a backseat in life.  My first quote above indicates how play can cause a child's imagination to soar.  A child from a low-income family can live outside their limitations through play.  A child with a disability can think outside the box through play and the use of their imaginations.  My second quote speaks to the importance of play in developing  social interaction amongst children.   Children from differing backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities can learn so much about each other through one hour of play.  This would not have been accomplished if they were told to sit down in a room and talk to each other for that same hour.