My connections to Play

Quotes

Play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child's soul.”--Friedrich Froebel “Father” of modern kindergarten

“It is in playing, and perhaps only in playing, that the child is free to be creative.”--D.W. Winnicott

Essential play items for my younger self

Loved sand play a lot

snake and ladder

Skipping rope

Play for me back in Nigeria was never ending, growing up in a large family, a big compound and a big garden ,there was always something do to, from sand play, dramatic plays acting as /farmers, traders, to running round the compound was fun.

My parents supported play a lot, most times we were told to go play outside, like my mum would say ‘that kids are not meant to sit idle, go outside and play’ The space we had to play was big, we could run around ,climb trees, play with sand, it was always fun and exciting, I cherish memories of my childhood and could not trade it for anything ,playing with my siblings, cousins and sometimes friends in the neighborhood, playing football ,play was a way of life, it was needed to keep us active.

My father loves to play with kids, he bought board games like snake and ladder, ’Ayo’(a traditional Yoruba board game. Indoor games was family time for us, table-tennis was is favorite sport so he even encouraged the girls to learn so we could enjoy together as a family

 The idea of play is changing, children no longer act like kids; they are being hurried to grow, with so much pressure from parents, school and governments. Children now involve in less active and healthy play, rather they watch television, videos, and play videos games for hours, some parents do not spend time to enjoy play time with their kids, sometimes due to economic pressure, parents tends to forget that children need to play to develop, they ignore it and just focus on the academic aspect of learning. There is need for more public awareness on the benefits of play so that children can be children and can exploit their to creative side, parents need to know its health benefits and success in school since that is what they desire for their children

The role of play in childhood is very crucial, through play, children develop better physical abilities, better social behaviors; learning to share things, take turns, and also empathy, better cognitive abilities through various activities which promotes their problem solving skill, it allows gives them the opportunity to explore their creative and imaginative ability. I believe if society can take time to let children play, a lot would be understood about them and their needs