My Connections to Play

Two quotes that I feel summarize what play represented for me in childhood are following.

We worry about what a child will become tomorrow, yet we forget that he is someone today. Stacia Tauscher

Children find everything in nothing; men find nothing in everything. ~Giacomo Leopardi, Zibaldone Scelto

I chose them because they contrast who I was in childhood and who I am now.  I in childhood was all about “now” and so busy finding out what I wanted to do with things I had around me. I never got bored and always felt I needed more time to play. My favorite items were old mattresses I was able to build forte, walls, a house and beds, and leaves and petals which I was able to use to make juice and chemical liquid. Another important thing was my legs and feet. It was just fun to run around, walking on the rocks and jumping from the gates.

When I was little, people supported play letting us play freely. It is unbelievable now but children were allowed to play alone in the park, run around and ride a bike in the neighborhood and take trips of up to a couple of miles to look for adventures. But adults and communities were watching us to be safe from criminals and they trusted us to find out what dangers were around by ourselves.

 I feel that plays are different now and when I was a child in regards with what we play with. I do not remember having many toys. I played outside a lot. Things like leaves, dirt, rocks were toys to me and finding out what I could do was the fun part.  But children nowadays have many toys. However, my daughter sometimes uses them in the ways which are not made to use so. For example, puzzle pieces becomes vegetables when she plays kitchen and becomes money when she plays shopping. I feel that the nature of children hasn’t changed much but the environment has changed.

I remember play was the fun of thinking and challenges when I was a child. I believe what I involve with is different now but I still like thinking and challenges because I know the fun of them and it enriches my life. I worry that environment surrounding children might not be various and wide enough to satisfy their curiosity and potential since adults limit where children go and what they play with because of the safety issues.