My Connections to Play

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” ~Plato

 “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” ~George Bernard Shaw

 I define play as a way for children to share or express their interpretation of the world.  My parents supported the idea or concept of play.  My room was well furnished with toys and games.  I had a bike, skates, a pet bunny to play with (before my baby sister came along), sports equipment, etc. I played with the other kids on my street as well.  I engaged in all forms of play from solitary, to competitive, to imaginative. 

 

Childhood Play

The pictures I chose represent what I liked to play with the most as a child.  I love Lego's, still to this day!  I have bought them for my daughter and we take time to build beauty salons and cafes.  And no female child can get through childhood without playing hand games!  When I hear the children in my class say the same chants, I can't help but to go back in time and reminisce on when I jumped rope to the same tune.  I think every child in America has played house but my most favorite was playing school.  Line up all the dolls and teddies and reenact what happened during the day but give it a different ending (lol).

 

Then vs. Now

I'm not sure if children are enjoying play like we did 15 plus years ago.  Most toys are electronic now so children don't have to be as creative during imaginary play.  I think there is an increase in solitary or parallel play for the older children.  I have seen children sit side by side and not speak to each other because their attention was glued to the iPhone, iPad, or iPod.  Children are less active now.  They don't go outside and play with their neighbors in the back yard like we use to. 

As we get older, we play less because of maturity and we have more responsibilities.  So, engaging in play will not help us.  Adults still play, just not as much and just in a different manner.  I don't play with dolls or other children toys unless I'm playing with my daughter or interacting with my prekindergartens.  To keep things fun for me and my spouse, we enjoy places like Dave and Busters and Main Events; we have family game nights where we play board games or let the children laugh at us when we try to save the princess on the Wii game system.