Visit Me Daily on Twitter
Your Art of living
  • Home
  • About
  • Blog
  • Store
  • Contact
  • Resources & Free Stuff

the power of playing

8/8/2014

1 Comment

 
Picture

Cubs face off, by john storr

I'm thinking today about the power of play.  School has not yet started, and so my daughter and I had the afternoon to spend together doing whatever we wanted.  Her continual plea: "Play with me!"  Why is it that as adults we forget the importance, the POWER, of play, for ourselves and our children?  Play serves important psychological and physiological functions, and yet it tends to be ignored in the daily busy-ness of our lives.  Animal research shows that not only do lots of different types of mammals play, but that not to do so can have a detrimental impact on their health.  We know from artifact collections that mankind has always invented games with which to occupy their time, entertain themselves, and develop certain skill sets.  

Now, let me emphasize that by "play" I don't mean playing organized sports, or taking part in a scout troop, or going to summer language camp, or rocket camp, or a Suzuki violin intensive.  I mean spontaneous, creative, unstructured, unencumbered-by-expectations play.  I was reminded of the difference after my daughter's plea to play.  See I had bought her a couple of "ballerina Barbies."  They were inexpensive, yet I felt the need to justify the purchases by saying to her (and myself) "you aren't going to be interested in Barbie dolls for too much longer, so sure, let's get them."  When she asked me to play with her, what she wanted was for me to watch her perform a ballet with her various ballerina Barbies, including the new ones.  I am ashamed to admit, the prospect didn't thrill me, but I also realized that I was being unreasonable if I said no to her request.  

After I acquiesed, my daughter proceeded to "build" a stage on the dining room table.  Cleverly using my centerpiece and various odds and ends from her play room, she created costumes for her dolls and three set changes.  With the "classical ballet" station on Pandora playing in the background, she spontaneously performed "The Rose Princess" ballet.  I was surprised and delighted by her enterprising instincts.  She managed to convey a storyline through various scenes, was extremely dexterous in having her dolls "dance" and even managed to hold her audience's interest (the impatient ME).  Most engaging was watching the look of rapt concentration and exultation on her face.  In a world where young people are too often exposed to overtly sexual messages, are inundated with social media, and saddled with the need to use their time for activities to "get ahead" (too many camps and enrichment opportunities), casual play--interest in things like dollies at age twelve--can fall away or be perceived as ridiculous.  Yet through watching her play, I saw my daughter's best qualities of innocence, resourcefulness and creativity come out.  She had me thinking about how I would play similar sorts of games with my dolls (but I never ever had an audience).  She reminded me of how much fun it is to invent, make do, re-purpose toys and items from the house and to use your imagination.  So many toys today are crafted to be all-inclusive and prescriptive (think Lego building sets). So much of our adult lives is designed to be prescriptive and pre-fabricated: our meals, our outfits, our desires and goals, our personal and professional benchmarks.  

So how do we loosen up, lighten up, become more playful?  Some suggestions:
  • Turn off the television and go outside to throw a frisbee, play catch, play informal badminton or volleyball.  No scores, no "working on improving the accuracy of your throwing"--just enjoy the leisurely pace, the movement, the laughter and the talk that will ensue.
  • Invite others to play.  Instead of scheduled playdates, how about an informal game of foursquare in the driveway with whoever happens to be around/available?
  • Bring back board games and card games!
  • Do a jigsaw puzzle, put on some fun music in the background, make some tea or hot chocolate and go to it!
  • Charades.  No equipment required.
  • For adults: Trivia nights at pubs.  
  • Also for adults: Don't forget bedroom play.  Doesn't have to be elaborate, but bring back some lightheartedness.  Laugh at yourselves and have fun.

For those interested in learning more about the research and history of play, I'd recommend Diane Ackerman's Deep Play and David Elkind's The Power of Play.  I'm also including a link to an article/exhibit devoted to deep play:
http://www.missoulaartmuseum.org/files/documents/exhibits/Deep_Play_essay.pdf

Most importantly, just do it.  Make play--the removal of objectives and the sheer freedom to exult in whatever you are doing--an essential part of your life.

Playfully and artfully yours,  --Lisabeth
1 Comment
phd writers link
3/30/2020 07:32:11 pm

This article is quite vague, but I do get the message this post is trying to say. I am hoping that more and more people will learn how to play as smart as possible. Some of you might be thinking that it’s not enough to play according to your heart; I have to agree with it. In everything that you do, all elements must be there for you to succeed! You can never reach the peak of our success if you don’t know how to manage it in the first place.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Lisabeth Robinson

    I have been an educator for 20 years.  I create, I play, I guide and I grow.  I want to share that with you too!

    Archives

    February 2021
    July 2020
    April 2020
    August 2018
    March 2018
    November 2017
    June 2017
    March 2017
    November 2016
    August 2016
    June 2016
    April 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014

    Categories

    All
    Anthropology
    Art
    Art Of Living
    Beauty
    Healing
    Healthy Living
    Leisure
    Literature
    Organization
    Poetry
    Renewal
    School
    Seasonal Living
    Seasons
    Self Help
    Self-help
    Self Improvement
    Self-improvement
    Spring Cleaning
    Travel

    RSS Feed

      join our email list for blog updates!

    Submit
Proudly powered by Weebly