My Connections To Play

"We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing."

-Charles Schaefer

"Children need the freedom and time to play. Play is not a luxury. Play is a necessity."

-Kay Redfield Jamison

  

Throughout my childhood cousins and friends always surrounded me. My neighborhood was full of children and with my cousins only living a few miles away we always had the opportunity to play. I remember the manhunt games that would consist of twenty plus children, the kickball and soccer games we would play, and all the street hockey and basketball games we had. We were always outside and running around and our families knew we would be safe. Without these early experiences I don’t think I would value outdoor play as much as I do now. And on those cold and rainy days we were sure to all be at someone’s house playing indoors with one another. I cherish my childhood and wish children these days had similar opportunities. My closest and best friends were my neighbors and even though we may have moved away from our town we are all sure to get together in the summer for our annual block party. Now we notice there are not as many children on our block, and the few that do reside in our neighborhood are barely caught outside. Except when Pokemon Go became a hit over the summer that’s when I would see plenty of children roaming the streets. There was never a day that I didn’t get to play and it hurts to see these children who are more enthralled by their iPad and video games and didn’t get to experience this as a child.

            I wish I saw more street hockey games, I wish I saw more children at the parks but I believe that some parents and even kids rather be inside and do there own thing. I grew so many relationships in my early years and I don’t see the same going on in this younger generation. Having a conversation through texts or on the computer is not going to help children gain the experience and communicational skills they need to succeed in their future. I also understand why there is such an increase in childhood obesity; “Today, about one in three American kids and teens is overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity in children more than tripled from 1971 to 2011. With good reason, childhood obesity is now the No. 1 health concern among parents in the United States, topping drug abuse and smoking” (American Heart Association, 2014). Children are not getting the exercise they need at this age which can cause major problems in the future in regards to health and gross motor skills. My hopes are that children get outside and play, at this age they don’t have responsibilities, bills, or even a care in the world. Once you get into adulthood you don’t have as much opportunities to just put your stuff down and go do something fun!

Reference

American Heart Association. (2014, August). Overweight in Children. Retrieved from http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/HealthyLiving/HealthyKids/ChildhoodObesity/Overweight-in-Children_UCM_304054_Article.jsp#