My Connections to Play

Quotes about Play

“Culture arises and unfolds in and as play”.

Johan Huizinga
Dutch historian

“Play energizes us and enlivens us. It eases our burdens. It renews our natural sense of optimism and opens us up to new possibilities”.

Stuart Brown, MD
Contemporary American psychiatrist

“Play is our brain's favorite way of learning”.

Diane Ackerman
Contemporary American author

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning”.

Fred Rogers
American television personality

BENEFITS OF PLAY

1. Play enables children to find out about themselves and the world. It allows them to:

 

A discover
B experiment
C create
D concentrate
E express ideas
F develop speech
G develop muscles
H invent
I · learn new skills
J· learn how other people behave
K role-play (pretend to be someone else)
L· share possessions
M use the imagination
·N co-operate with others
O show off (children like to let others know what they can do)
P act protectively towards someone less powerful than themselves.

   

2. Play helps towards happiness. A child who is absorbed in play is likely to be a happy child, as play produces feelings of satisfaction and achievement. 

3. Play helps prevent boredom. Preventing a child from being bored is very important, as boredom can quickly lead to bad temper, irritability and destructiveness.
4. Play can help reduce stress. The acting out of stressful situations can help them to seem more familiar and therefore less frightening. For example, by playing 'schools' a child becomes familiar with the idea of going to school.  This will help to reduce any nervousness about school which the child might have. In the same way. playing 'doctors and nurses' can help prepare a child for a stay in hospital. 
5. Play can help divert aggressive instincts. Using a hammer to nail pieces of wood together to make a 'boat' is preferable to using the hammer to hurt someone or destroy property.

My Play

   In my childhood my play was supported by all of my friends. We would play baseball in the street out in front of our homes and have a great time. Most of the time we spent outside, I grew up in sunny Southern California and the weather was always great. This is totally different from the kids today where they spend most of their time playing with electronics and digital toys. This is why we have so many obese children in the USA, because they spend most of their time sitting and playing instead of physical play like riding a bike or playing sports.

   Today play is still an important part of my life as well as all my families’ lives too. We spend much time on the lake waterskiing, fishing or swimming. When we are at home we are swimming or playing “corn hole” outside enjoying the weather. We all have jeeps and we hit the trails whenever possible through the “The Land between the Lakes”, here in Kentucky where we currently live. When it is cold we are inside shooting pool. We all enjoy doing things together. My husband and I have always said, “We work hard all week to play harder on the weekends”.