My Connections to Play

 “It is a happy talent to know how to play.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

“When children pretend, they’re using their imaginations to move beyond the bounds of reality. A stick can be a magic wand. A sock can be a puppet. A small child can be a superhero.”

Fred Rogers

            Play was my childhood.  I grew up in a rural community and the only neighbors I had were my family.  I grew up with my older cousin and I consider him my brother because we were so close.  We loved to play baseball in our grandparents’ front yard.  Their porch was first base, a tree was second, a bush was third, and a circle of dirt that we had created was home plate.  We also had a garden.  I loved helping “work” it.  I created many games in my head while weeding the garden and helping harvest it.  Some people would call it work but I loved every minute of it.  When the corn came in, I would race the adults to see who could shuck and fill up their bucket first.  When the weather was bad or when winter came, I did play more inside with my toys and board games.  My favorite thing to play with was puzzles.  I loved putting puzzles together.  My philosophy was the harder, the better.  To this day, I still love getting a challenging puzzle and trying to put it together.  My mother was a teacher so she highly encouraged my play.  My grandparents and other adults in my family also supported and encouraged my play.  They would play with me or allow me to play pretty much whatever I wanted.  I went through a phase that I was convinced I could find treasure and fossils in our yards.  They let me dig numerous holes one summer in my pursuit.  Sadly, I was unlucky in finding anything except an old fork. 

            I do think that play is similar in the fact that children still use their imagination and play with what they can find.  This was much of my childhood growing up.  However, I think the influence of technology has greatly altered play. I did not grow up with a television or video games.  We only got one channel on our TV and did not get cable until I was in the 8^th grade.  I think technology is limiting our children’s imagination, especially the imagination that is needed in pretend play.  Also, I am observing children having a harder time just creating play.  It is like the need directions or a goal before they start playing.  My hope is that children are allowed to play and use their imagination like I was able to do.  We cannot hide from technology but hopefully children are able to use it sparingly.  This of course depends on the parents.  As a parent, my son knows his screen time is limited each week.  The rest of the time, he is to play with his toys however he chooses.  I love to watch his creativity and imagination in action. 

            I am still a kid at heart and love to play.  My play has evolved as I have gotten older.  Play in adulthood for me revolves around the things I like to do in my down time such as reading.  I still love working puzzles.  I even turn housework into play.  I do this so I do not dread it as much and it helps get it done quicker.  Sadly between work and school, I do not get to “play” as much as I like.  However, I do get to play with my son a lot.  I encourage his play and fulfill whatever role he wants me to in his play.  I do believe that adults should play more.  I think the world would be a happier place if everyone took time to play.