My Connections to Play
By Deb Trowbridge
“Play involves a free choice activity that
is non-literal, self-motivated, enjoyable and process oriented” (Wardle, 1987).
“Play is children’s work” (Rivera, 2009).
I have fond memories of playing with my sister in our
spacious basement on Sunday afternoons while my parents napped. We named our baby dolls, changed their
clothes, fed them, put them to bed in their little cribs and nurtured them
while they were awake. My sister and I
set up our own houses by arranging the furniture. We had a little sized table and play
dishes. We visited each other with all
our babies to have tea together just like our mom did with her sisters, our
aunts. Once we were school age, we
played school. We played house and
school whole-heartedly.
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I have fond memories of playing outside with my sister in
the edge of the woods by our house. We
both had our own tree that we could climb and it was our ‘home’ while we
played. I remember exploring the pond
filled with fat black tadpoles. I
remember the hours we spent playing games or just swimming together in our
swimming pool with our cousins.
I can see how all these opportunities to play gave me the
opportunity to be independent, explore my world, figure out how things work,
develop my physical body, help me to grow confident in myself, and practice
social rules. I give my parents all the
credit for the opportunity to play while I was young. Playing was my work while my dad went to do
his work away from home and my mom tended to household responsibilities. My parents provided my siblings and I with
safe playing environments, dolls and other appropriate toys, time and the
freedom to explore. They were also our
role models so we knew how to act while playing. Playing for me certainly was a free-choice,
self-motivated, and enjoyable time!
I feel that play can be the same for children now as it was
for me if parents can offer a safe play environment and time. My husband and I were able to offer both to
our daughters when they were small.
Unlike my mother, I decided to get back into the work world soon after
our daughters were born. I carefully
selected babysitters that created a very similar environment to what I provided. My daughters had other children to play with
as a bonus. I am pleased with the
opportunities they had to play. As they
grew older I did find myself too busy with my daughters getting involved with
extra activities such as cello lessons, gymnastics, dance or soccer. It probably would have been better to just be
home with the girls and let them play outside or spend time together. Experience tells me that all parents have to
carefully balance the activities of their children’s lives.
It is my hope that all children have the opportunity to play
outside to explore and use their bodies, that all children have the opportunity
to interact with other children so they can develop socially, that all children
have the opportunity to pretend and use their imagination all while parents or
other nurturing adults are nearby to offer support and guidance when it is
needed. It is my hope that all children
have someone at home who will limit their screen time, read to them, play games
with them, be interested in them and play with them some of the time.
In conclusion, one of the things I enjoyed playing was
‘school’ when I was young. I am one of
the happy people who agrees with Rivera’s statement, “Fortunate are those whose
career is a form of play-mastery and continued building of competence-for which
one gets paid!” (2009). I am in the
education field today. J
Rivera, M. (2009).
The powerful effect of play in a child’s education. Education
Digest, 75(2), 50-52.
Wardle, F. (1987).
Getting back to the basics of children’s play. Child
Care Information Exchange, Sept., 27-30.
