"Play is our brain's favorite way of learning - Diane Ackerman"
"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"
When I was a child play was highly encouraged. Whenever all of my cousins and other family members were over to the house the kids already knew that we couldn't stay in the house we were always told to go outside and play with the other children and to be back before dinner time or sometimes we would just go into the backyard and play. From what I can remember play was always a part of my education life, personal life and all other aspects of my life when growing up.
Play is definitely different today then how it was when I was growing up - when growing up most of our play took place outside at the park, in the backyard or on the front porch with children from the neighborhood or family members. Children today consider play to be playing with their iPad/iPod/iPhone, Playstation 4, Wii or WiiU, Xbox or spending time surfing the internet. As a child I had no idea what a cellphone was or any of the gaming systems that are out now - children today do not understand the quality of playing outside instead they want to consume their time with technology - I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of children do not know how to ride a bike, play hopscotch, hide and seek, double dutch/jump-rope and other fun outside games.
Great Job Brittney, I started laughing when you stated that you had no idea what a cell phone was. I was in the same boat. LOL. One of the things that were cool back in the day for me was having a phone in your room. Having a phone in your room was a status buster and a cool thing. One of my friends who has children has a tray at the front door that says drop your cell phone is it family time. She does this because she wants her children to find some balance between technology and self/family time. Do you practice anything similar in your home?
ReplyDeleteOMG! Britney, you know how to double dutch?!! I am so jealous!
ReplyDeleteI couldn't agree more with your statement concerning children's dependency on technology when it comes to play. It seems as though the use of technology has made them dependent on other people's imaginations. It also thwarts their physical development because, as you said, many of them do not have the coordination to jump rope or ride bikes.
My kids did not have gaming systems growing up, they too were encouraged to go outside, or in another room, and play with their cousins; this resulted in the performance of plays, music videos, etc.
I remember that when I was a child we also were pretty much required to play outside. When the holidays came all of us kids stayed outside playing tag, or hide and seek or house while the adults were in the house cooking. I remember during also that during the summers we were always outside. There were some neighbor kids that came and stayed with their dad during the summer and we would all play together. Many times we would go in and out of the house, I remember my mom and my older brothers and sisters telling us younger kids that we needed to stop running in and out.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that kids these days think that play has to have some kind of technology involved. They do not really go outside to play. They do not get a lot exercise. We did not have a lot of technology growing up. I remember that we got the first video game that attached to our television several years after the game had actually came out. We did not have a lot of money to buy those kinds of toys. One year me and my three younger siblings got bikes for Christmas. They were not new bikes but we thought we had arrived and we were outside riding them from morning to night.