"Life must be lived as play!" ~ Plato
These quotes summarize what play meant to me as a child. I remember fondly playing with my siblings, cousins, friends, and parents. My parents were always telling us to play and helping us make up outdoor and indoor games.
As a child my family always played board games together. Some of our favorites were Scrabble, Candy Land, Monopoly, and LIFE. I also remember my favorite toy, my Holly Hobby Oven, which my mother and I used to bake things in all the time. I remember her showing me how to use it and helping me with the batters and sharing treats with her when they were done. Since I had a lot of outdoor allergies at a child I wasn't always able to play outside but even this did not stop play from being an important aspect of my life. Playing in the sprinklers and the slip-n-slide in the summer was another favorite activity. It was even more fun to watch my Mom and Dad go down the slip and slide.
Today, I feel play is much more guarded and structured for children. Some of this has to do with safety concerns of parents, busy schedules, and technology. There is a greater fear of allowing children to simply play outside because of increased child abductions and other threats. I have to admit, I myself fell into this trap and had to remind myself the kids would be fine with supervision. I am fortunate to live in a neighborhood where my children play with the neighbor kids and they all go from one yard to the other and we all watch out for each other's children. Busy work schedules and more scheduled "after school activities" like soccer, dance, gymnastics, and little leagues also take away from the good old "play outside in your neighborhood" that we had as children. Technology is another important factor in the change. Today children play video games, get on the computer, watch TV, listen to MP3 players & IPODS, and can be in front of a screen for a big part of the day.
I hope that in the future parents can become more involved with their childen and their play activities. Some of the best memories I have are playing games and playing outside with one or both of my parents. I can remember catching fireflies in mayonnaise jars and my Dad poking holes in the lids for them; playing chase with neighborhood kids; and an all time favorite flashlight tag! I hope that children can have the same carefree experiences that we enjoyed as children. This should not mean sacrificing their safety, it means that as parents it is our responsibility to create environments where children can share in carefree experiences.
I believe that my play experiences had a wonderful impact on my life throughout childhood and into adulthood. My play experiences as a child taught me to solve conflicts with others, teamwork, empathy for others, sharing, and created strong social bonds between myself and my siblings and parents. I also learned to explore things and to ask questions. By having my parents as such a large part of my play experiences I believe it taught me to not take life too seriously and to be sure to enjoy yourself. I believe it also taught me to play with my own children and to create memories for them as well.
