Embracing in play throughout life

Embracing in play throughout life

Athletes call it the “Zone.” Professionals call it “Flow.” Children call it “Play.” Regardless of the term, each share the basic characteristic of complete self-less absorption and engagement in the moment. Dr. Stuart Brown from the National Institute for Play defines play as something that “is apparently purposeful activity that has no actual purpose or meaning”. It “takes you out of time and the act itself is more important than the outcome.” As adults, we may resist the notion of engaging in an activity that appears purposeless, yet research shows that play unlocks the human potential in all stages of life for transforming our world. Changing the adult, changes the environment we call childhood and how we relate to the developmental needs of children. Here are two reasons to embrace play throughout life. Adults who engage in a long-term relationship with play embody: a sense of humor, the enjoyment of novelty, the capacity to share a lighthearted sense of the world’s ironies, the enjoyment of mutual storytelling, and the capacity to openly share their imagination. These playful interactions, when nurtured, result in an atmosphere of authentic connection and fulfilling relationship. Add this nurturing and loving adult to a spontaneous encounter of play with a well-fed, well-rested and safe infant child, and the result will be a mutual radiate of contagious joy. Neuroscience findings show that child development is model dependent. Ideally then, the focus of early childhood development is to maximize the model-environment each adult parent represents. Guiding, learning from and mentoring the future of humanity is a developmental process for adults. When approached in this way the relationship, with it’s learning, and personal development becomes reciprocal and genuinely playful. In his book, “Magical Parent, Magical Child,” author Joseph Chilton Pearce encourages adults to rediscover the “playful” and “childlike” […]

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