Creative play is like a spring that bubbles up from deep within a child.
-Joan Almon
You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.
- Plato
- Plato
I was an only child and because of this I was provided many toys for my toy box. My mother insisted that I have a variety of dolls including Barbies, Paper Dolls, Baby Dolls, Doll Heads to style their hair and makeup, and ceramic dolls. She also provided me with Hula Hoops, Jump Ropes, Jack Stones, Paddle Boards, and a host of board games. Their was never a dull play moment in my whether it was Solitary play or Associative Play. I enjoyed play either in or outdoors. My parents insisted I experienced playtimes either with them, my family, or friends. My parents gave me the freedom of pretend play and many opportunities to play freely.
In today’s society I don’t children experience play as freely as children years past. Children’s play now is accompanied with some type of technology. I can honestly admitted as a parent I invested in just about every product Leap Frog has introduced on the market from the Lead Pad for infants to the Leapster and then to the Lead Frog writing pad. I felt during my children’s free time they could use these products to increase their learning. I found over time even though they enjoyed these products, they wanted the bicycles, skates, balls and cars they could push to move around on the floor. They truly wanted the simply toys. I believe as a society we have moved away from the simple toys because we feel children need those toys that will be prepare them educationally. As my children have continued to grow I become more conscientious of their need for fresh air and opportunities to play freely to gain those necessary social emotion skills to make them successful in life.
Good for you Vanessa. Realizing that your children need to move around and get some fresh air is something I am sure they appreciate. We were very fortunate to have a lot of toys. But we incorporated them into pretend play. I see you loved Barbies. Me too! Even when I became an adult I would play Barbies with my two daughters. I think I was more into it than they were. Since I was a Commercial Art major, I gleaned from my drafting class and made furniture out of cardboard and covered the furnishings with various contact paper prints. Oh, and I never could hula hoop! (smile)
ReplyDeleteVanessa,
ReplyDeleteI also spent a great deal of money and time trying to buy fun for my first born. Thankfully I started watching him play and realized he just needed time and his imagination. He played superhero using towels, made "spiderwebs" using yarn and glue, and made race tracks from toilet tissue tubes and paper. Allowing children to explore their world independently and making their own toys is the best gift a parents can give. Toys are fun, but pretend play and imagination are priceless.