So back in September, Scott sent one that was more than his usual three or four paragraphs of wisdom for the day. He linked to a video about Original Play, based on the work of Fred Donaldson, author of Playing by Heart. It's now 4 months later, longer than I have ever kept a Daily Groove in my inbox, and I felt compelled today to take the time to watch this. Did I mention, wow. Very cool stuff.
A few key statements to whet your appetite:
- "Play has skeletal, endrocine, cardiovascular, and immune system benefits."
- "The 2 best things for the COGNITIVE development of young children are TOUCH and MOVEMENT."
- "Once a person feels safe, they don't fight."
- "Mom and Dad have to let go of being Mom and Dad when they're playing."
- "In play, you never take control of another person's body."
- "Original play is about giving and receiving love, and about keeping your kids safe."
Seriously, take 30 minutes and watch this. It will change your relationship with any children you have contact with, whether you are a parent, teacher, aunt or uncle, or friend.
Then let me know what you think! Did it impact you the way it did me?
2 comments:
So, Louisa, was this easy to initiate? The video(s) were very informative and I'm tantalized. Especially having three boys... it seems I spend the whole day saying "stop hitting, stop pushing, you're being too rough, just stop touching each other!" Many time-outs ensue and days go by that feel entirely too negative. I'd love to try this, but I wonder how easy it really is to let go and "figure" it out?
I don't have all the answers, but I didn't make it too complicated. I really didn't tell the kids much at all, just made a safe area where we could play (living room floor, made sure there was nothing hard we could crash into), sat down on the floor and said "come here!"
I realized quickly that usually when I play physically with the kids, I'm constantly saying "be careful" or "be gentle" - this time I just shut up. I decided that if I get a knee in the ribs or something, as long as no one gets seriously hurt, I'll just roll with it. I tried to keep moving, so there were no serious pile-ons or no competition developed. And the kids LOVED it. I've seen a difference already in their ability to play with each other without sparring. That help?
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