08/16/2022
When my son's emotions are too much for him to handle, when life feels overwhelming, when he has a hard day...he plays. And plays and plays.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
It feels like therapy for him. Because play is where children feel safe. Play is the birthplace of personhood. Play isn't a luxury or a maybe-if-we-have-time. Play isn't meant to fringe our children's days, it's meant to fill them.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Play isn't wasting or filling in time. Play is necessary for healthy human development. Just as a bird flies or a fish swims, the human child plays.
⠀⠀
Yet, somehow we've forgotten that. We've prioritised the wrong things. We value what we can measure and assess. What we can put a gold star on or show off to our friends about.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
But that's not what our kids need. Kids need unrestricted access to free play, whether they've had an easy day and especially when they've had a hard day.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Play is the language of childhood and the more we learn to speak our kids' language the easier parenting becomes. For me the more I play as an adult, the more I learn that play is a universal language and we need it so much as parents too.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
So, next time your child is overwhelmed, when life is getting too much for them, I hope this may help. Get down and play. Make time. Slow things down. Skip school. Take a day or a week off. Go into your child’s world and you’ll be amazed at how they know just how to heal themselves if only we let them.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
P.S I had the honour of sharing a conversation with Larry Cohen for the upcoming Raised Good Online Summit. Keep an eye out, I'll be sharing details to register for FREE soon.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
💚
