My Connections to Play

Quotes that relate to my childhood play:
"Children need the freedom and time to play.Play in not a luxury.  Play is a necessity."
~Kay Redfield Jamison

"When children pretend, they are 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

Essential play items when I was a kid:

When I was a child, we lived in the country and had many acres of fields and woods that we played in.  Mom sent us out after breakfast and we came in only for lunch and dinner, and then at bedtime!  Summers were filled with imaginative play, very few store-bought toys, but a lot of creative energy that allowed us to go camping, on safari, to far away places, and play house and school with out dollies and barbies... all while enjoying the fresh air and mosquitos!

Boxes were also an essential component to my childhood play.  Boxes could double as cars, rockets, ships, caves, and any other thing you came up with.  Crayons added to box play allowed you to decorate the boxes into whatever they were designed for!  Some of my friends had fancy barbie houses, but I had boxes made into rooms with doors and windows cut out and decorated with washcloths and scrap fabrics!  They were the coolest barbie houses EVER!

Our neighbor friends were also our daily playmates.  Living in the country meant that we did not have a lot of close neighbors, but we did have some neighbors next door who had children the same ages as myself, my older sister, and younger brother.  We would play together for HOURS, all while outdoors, using our limited toys and imaginations.  Our summers with our neighbor kids were some of my best childhood memories!

Supporting Play:

I would say that my mom and dad were the biggest supporters of our play when we were younger.  We were expected to entertain ourselves and play outside for most of the day in the summer time.  I do not remember many times when my parents played with us, but we always had fun playing with our siblings and neighbors.  Play was the largest component to my childhood.

Has Play Changed?:

I do believe that play has changed dramatically since I was a child.  Most of my childhood I was expected to entertain myself with very little direction from my parents.  They provided us with toys and opportunities to play, but very little was guided play.  I think they did us a great favor by expecting us to entertain ourselves and use our imaginations.  My siblings and I are all very creative, resourceful, and well-rounded adults, which is much due to my parents early parenting skills regarding our play.

With my own children, I find that I interact and play with them more than my parents did with me.  However, there are lots of times where they are expected to entertain themselves and play on their own and they do very well.  I like providing them with opportunities to engage in creative play by sending them outside with just a few toys and seeing what they can dream up.  I believe by supporting their play individually and also interacting occasionally with their play, they too will grow up to be creative individuals.