Saturday, November 23, 2013
MY CONNECTION TO PLAY
In my youth which was in the 1960's and 70's, we had loads of fun and free play. Parents would let the kids play all day. This was an era before beepers and cellphones. In the summertime, children would start coming out to play about 10 a.m. We would play a variety of games like punchball, tag, doubledutch, dolls and read books together. We played until lunch time. We ate and then we came right back outside, scared that if we stayed in too long we would miss something. We played all day long and only went inside to use the bathroom or if we were hungry. We were able to play outside until the streetlights came on. None of us ever got molested or kidnapped. We had a wholesome childhood.
Play today is so different. Parents are scared of some unforeseen horrible attack on their child. children are scared to play outside due to overexposure of the crazies in the media. My grandson is so out of touch with the outdoors that he is scared of flies and mosquitoes, We didn't even notice bugs when we played. My hope for this younger generation is that they and their parent overcome their fears and allow children to be children again. Allow them to experience new discoveries, new friends and have fun while doing so.
I loved play so much that I still play to this day. My boyfriend works in the same 20 story building that I do. Just yesterday I called him midday and asked him if "he could come out and play with me?". I will always be a child at heart and this is why I enjoy being around children.
Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity.
Kay Redfield Jamison
Contemporary American professor of psychiatry
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
Plato
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I really enjoyed reading your blog post. It is so true that play is different these days. Children do not go outside like they used to. They are all into electronics, such as cellphones, computers, tablets and the list goes on. Even in my youth in the 1990s when I was a small child I always went outside. We didn't really have much access to computers and cellphones and things at that time. Play is very important for children to learn and develop appropriately.
ReplyDeleteKaren,
ReplyDeleteI can remember having the entire Barbie dream house set with my sisters, this was one of the best Christmas in my childhood, double dutch fan over here, I still can jump with the kids. How about you? I have to agree with you play is not a luxury but necessity to get kids outdoors and running around to keep them healthy physically and mentally.
Thanks for your comments,
Toshiko Pinckney
Thanks Karen for your connection to play. I loved the pictures of the basket ball and girls jumping rope. I loved jumping rope as a child even though I never mastered Double Dutch. I laughed about your statement of as a child we didn't notice the bugs outside. As an adult I'm terrified of bugs but I don't remember bugs being an issue when I was a child. Thanks for the fond memories of a sweet childhood of play.
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading this as well! I grew up in the 1980's and I also remember playing outside all day long. We would go all over the place, riding bikes, playing hide and seek, and we stayed out until the street lights came on. There wasn't really a fear or worry about us staying out that long. It was such a different time. I miss those days. Thanks for reminding me how great it was.
ReplyDeleteHello Karen
ReplyDeleteI loved the pictures that you presented. I also remember my younger days and it seemed like all we did was play. When we started school we also had a lot of fun at school playing. On the weekends were the best because my mother always joined us and there were eight of us. It was so much fun then and so different now in school and at home.