"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity." ~Kay Redfield Jamison
Looking back on my childhood, I believe people supported my play by allowing me to be a child, explore my environment, hours of unstructured time, the great outdoors, and cousins and neighborhood friends. Time was spent outdoors, with a ball, bike, and outdoor pets. Wow, thinking back, I didn't have much in the way of "toys". However, the little I did have allowed for creativity, freedom, learning how to care for pets and eventually others, problem-solving, games with rules, negotiation, and conflict-resolution. Many of these skills have carried through to adulthood. These were the times where x's were made in stones for bases, rocks were used to make marks on the road for start and finish lines, and safety was experienced through play. Considering my age, it was not that long ago that this type of play was able to occur.
Kickball Bicycle with basket and banana seat
Has this type of play nearly disappeared? From research and my observations, it is seeming so. Todays parents are concerned about safety, find it easier to keep track of children while indoors, do not have open areas, parks, or yards to let their children play in, or are tied up with work, school, etc. to take the time to travel to parks. The electronic age has taken over! It is my hope that we will look back to previous generations and understand and value all they had to offer. To this day, I make sure my own children have that unstructured time outside with each other and neighborhood friends. They also are provided with balls, bikes, pogo sticks, trees, and many other open-ended toys. Do they have electronics, of course, but like anything, their is a time and place for those items.
As I reflect back on my childhood, I am proud that I was given such opportunities to play. I also remember kindergarten as a time for arts and crafts, playing, making friends, and cookies and milk. I don't even remember doing many worksheets or even "learning", so play must have been a priority back then. Can we go back to those good old days? I hope sooner than later.
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI didn't have many "toys" either growing up but I did have friends, safe playgrounds and safe neighborhood to be outdoors. Hop-scotch and jump rope were popular. Seeing the red ball on your post reminded me of playing dodge ball growing up. I must admit, that was NOT one of my favorite games! Kindergarten was a similar experience for me. When I was growing up, most children's first school experience came when we went to kindergarten. Most mothers were at home and while we didn't have play groups as such, I had many opportunities to get together with children in my neighborhood as our mothers visited each other. I agree, those were the good old days. We can only hope that research continues to be reviewed by the powers that be and those making decisions about expectations for young children begin to understand the importance of play in the lives of young children.
Judi
Amanda,
ReplyDeleteI was a big kickball player on my neighborhood block. I remember it was nearly twenty of us kids playing in the middle of the street but everyone's parents knew where their children were. As I visit my parents now, I barely see any children playing outside and when they are they are playing by themselves. This past fall, I was playing (Yes, I still play outside) with my godchildren and my nephews and a new neighbor asked if we would allow her daughter to play with us. Of course, we said yes but I felt so much pity for her as she had no siblings and there are literally five kids on my parents block. She had so much fun with us and that brought such a smile to my face.