My Connections to Play

My Connections to Play

“Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.”                             Kay Redfield Jamison

“Play builds the kind of free-and-easy, try-it-out, do-it-yourself character that our future needs.”          James L. Hymes Jr.

 

 Every year I had to have the newest Baby Alive

I think that every girl had to have one of these growing up!!!!

I just loved being able to play in the kitchen area in school!

I also think the housekeeping are was the area that everyone learned the most…

Growing up I was always encouraged to go outside and play. My family would always get together and go to the park during the weekends and we would BBQ and have a great time together! I loved being able to play with my friends and family. My mom would allow me to have sleepovers once a month and I would have about 7-10 girls to come over and we would have and absolute BALL!!!

I feel that play is much more different than it was when I was growing up. I feel that parents are allowing children to watch more tv than ever before. Children learn what the different shows teach them but they don’t get to explore and learn from trial and error. Children are not developing as fast physically because parents aren’t engaging with them as much. I see a lot of people doing what’s convenient for them and not what’s best for the children. For example, instead of helping the child walk, the parent will just put them in a walker or carry them around. When I was growing up we didn’t use a walker, our parents allowed us to roam free and pull up on the sofa and table. If we fell they would make sure we were okay, and let us continue on.

I feel that play has helped me become more social and has given me the tools I needed to be able to work with the many different people in my field of work. I find it very easy to make friends and communicate with others. Play, to me is the key to being able to understand how other people interact with one another.