Play!

“When I became a man I put away childish things, including the fear of childishness and the desire to be very grown up.”

~ C.S. Lewis

For many years now, my mother has lovingly, rhetorically, asked, "When will Jo stop playing?"  Indeed, I wondered myself. But how could I? Play is FUN! And now that I have a child of my own, and a husband who is an avid tree climber, I have a great excuse to keep doing it!

I can't help but notice that whenever I go to the playground with my son, there are a lot of stiff, bored parents nodding along the perimeter and texting while I am making my way down the slide (again!).

Coupled with the fact that I still look under-age (and once got asked at 24 to show ID to use a computer at the library where you have to be 16), I was almost feeling self-conscious about my easy ability to be so playful. Should I be acting more adult and mature even though I can't help it because I really am of the Fae?

Well, after doing a bit of research, I have discovered that in fact, play is a good thing! Here's what the experts say about play:

A book called, Playful Parenting, speculates that play is actually a very powerful parenting tool, one that can build confidence, close-connections, and even solve some behavioural problems.

Play can help children to sort out daily difficulties by re-enacting  scenarios and adopting a different, authoritative role. For instance, if a child had a negative experience at the doctors office, she may come home and "play" doctor...only this time, she'll be the doctor dishing out the needles while you "playfully" beg for mercy. This kind of role-reversal helps a child reclaim any power that they feel they may have lost while they simultaneously explore their world while they are in control.

I remember when my brother and I use to play school with our little sister and her friends.  I was the teacher and my brother was the principle. The game always went best when we were as mean and over-the-top as possible, "punishing" them for even the slightest misbehaviour.  While most adults might shudder at the thought, these kids roared with laughter whenever the principle made a surprise inspection, yelling and berating each little offender.  They would even beg us to yell more and be meaner!

We were playing and they knew that. But I'm sure the process was therapeutic for more than a few in our little brood.

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, play is so critical to the optimal development of a child that in 2007, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights deemed it a "right of every child".  And, play is becoming an endangered species of its own. Our over-booked pressure-packed schedules,  and focus on academic enrichment and achievement, has left little time for "free child-centered play." 

And that my friends is the good stuff. That's where the magic happens. That kind of play develops imagination and creativity and improves cognitive, emotional, and physical strength. Play allows children to try on different roles in a pressure-free environment which ultimately builds confidence and self-esteem.

Play isn't just for kids either.  Though adults often view it as a luxury, or worse, a sign of immaturity, it is neither of those things. Research shows that the 7 types of play help improve health and well-being and strengthen relationships and community ties. Play also allows us to transcend our ordinary lives which helps us create new thoughts and ideas, and, oh yah,it's fun! 

Remember fun? I know...it's been a while.  As we age,  we become so preoccupied with the seemingly important adult world that we loose the ability to let go, be free, and in the moment.  A concept which books like A New Earth tell us is pretty important for our well-being and spiritual evolution.

I think we all need to reconnect with the amazing child within who still has a lot to teach us. So put down your phone, close your lap top, stop cleaning or doing whatever you do, and give yourself permission to play. Even if all you have is a cardboard box :)

"You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation." 

~ Plato

"The truly great advances of this generation will be made by those who can make outrageous connections, and only a mind which knows how to play can do that." 

~ Nagel Jackson

***For further reading, check out this article from Scientific American, where a 42 year study reveals some very scary things about a world without play.