My Connections to Play

"It doesn't matter if you win or lose, it's how you play the game". (Anonymous)

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

Play was essential to my early childhood years. Everyday my friends and I would get together for a neighborhood game of kickball or bike riding. We would always find some kind of game that would cause an argument because the boys would hate for the girls to beat them in any kind of sport. It was all in fun!  We would come out to play early in the afternoon and stay out all day. Playtime gave us time to communicate with each other, learn from each other, and explore with each other. We were encouraged to go outside and play. In the words of my mother, "Go burn some energy"!

Play today is definitely different than what it was years ago. Children now are into all kinds of electronics. They do not go out to burn any type of energy. Most children are into video games, computers, Ipads, and etc. It is very rare to see children in my neighborhood riding bikes. When I take my children out to play, the spend more time complaining about the heat. When I was young, the heat didn't matter. My friends and I just wanted to play and have fun!

As a result of having 3 siblings, there was always someone to play with or talk to.I do believe that the opportunity to play helped to shape my personality. In my adult life, I am using play to help my grandson to develop his personality. As a result of him being the only child, he has adult play mates!