― Plato
"Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation."
Stuart Brown, MD Contemporary American Psychiatrist
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| This is where "gue" used to be for our manhunt games. Spent many days playing on the swingset. |
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| This is the type of fort we built in the backyard. Made of simple logs and trees but a great place to share our deepest dreams. |
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| We played many games with a ball like this. Some of our best memories were backyard kickball and softball. We really learned how to take turns and celebrate other's victories. |
Some of my favorite memories of my childhood were playing with the neighborhood friends outside. I used to love to play manhunt, kickball, the sandbox and play in the fort we made in our backyard. I was an only child and the time I spent with the other "little girls in the neighborhood" was like time spent with sisters. I view one of those girls as my sister to this day, I was maid of honor in her wedding and the godmother to her child and I really value that relationship that was created during the many outdoor play activities we engaged in as a young child. It is very true that you can discover the inner being of someone else when you are engaged in play with them, that is when their true self comes out. I think that is how I truly fostered some of the best relationships that I have in my life to this day. Our parents would tell us to go out and play until the street lights came on. We lived in a very safe neighborhood that was shaped like a horseshoe so there was very little traffic. Our parents would check out the window every once in a while to see how we were doing outside. It was very nice to be able to have the freedom to engage and explore with other kids.
Play is very different nowadays. I think it is much more difficult in the society we live in to allow your children to go outside and play "until the streetlights come on" with minimal supervision. It is unfortunate that safety is no longer assumed. I think that this is one of the major things that impacts the ability for children to play. I also feel that parents in todays society need to work a lot more to be able to keep up with the increasing cost of living, which limits the amount of available time they have to play with their children or supervise their outside play. There are many demands on parents including work demands, parental demands, and societal demands. Many times their work days do not end when they walk in the door so it easier to allow their children a few hours of "screen time" (tv, internet, video games) so they can complete a work assignment or clean the house then it is to encourage them to play or read together. I wish for today's children that they can have time that is safe and supervised to engage in the kinds of play I got to as a child. If I become a parent, that will be a priority of my childrens upbringing. I think it is very important that children are given time to explore each other and their surroundings. If it weren't for the time I was given to play I wouldn't have many of the social skills or friends that I have now. I wouldn't be able to handle the daily disappointments of life as easily without having the experiences of being picked last for the manhunt team or kickball team, or getting the last out in the softball game and losing it for your team. I feel the time I got to play in my childhood has shaped me into the adult I am today. I feel it is important even as an adult to prioritize time for "play" and relaxation. I like to live my life as Theodore Roosevelt said "When you play, play hard; when you work, don't play at all.”
