{"id":54,"date":"2009-04-09T10:28:00","date_gmt":"2009-04-09T10:28:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.wordpress.com\/2009\/04\/09\/the-importance-of-play-for-parents\/"},"modified":"2009-04-09T10:28:00","modified_gmt":"2009-04-09T10:28:00","slug":"the-importance-of-play-for-parents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/2009\/04\/09\/the-importance-of-play-for-parents\/","title":{"rendered":"The Importance of Play (for Parents!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

A Carnival of Play<\/em> is going on at <\/strong><\/span>PhD in Parenting<\/span><\/a> right now and it got me thinking about how important play is — not for children (we already know that!) but for parents.<\/p>\n

Parenthood can be hard work.  It can be exhausting, it can be challenging and it can wear us down.  One of the best ways to combat that and really enjoy parenthood is to learn how to be playful again.  <\/p>\n

Most parents already play with their children, but it’s often in action only.  I’m not talking about getting down on the floor and playing Candyland for the 85th time or dutifully agreeing to play the part of Sparkle Pony (unless you really love Candyland and My Little Ponies).  Those things are wonderful for children, but they don’t do a whole lot for us.<\/p>\n

The sort of playing that we need more of is the sort that makes us happy, too.  <\/p>\n

We need to be present when we’redoing things with our kids, and find a way to do things to make it joyful for us at the same time. <\/p>\n

One easy way to do this is to do things with our children that we love to do.  If we love gardening, we can introduce our kids to gardening.  If we love doing crafts, we can do them side by side.  If we love baseball, we can take our kids to games and volunteer as coaches for Little League.<\/p>\n

We need to take it farther than that, though.  Those are hobbies and they’re enjoyable, but they are different from the world of play that children naturally gravitate towards.  If we join them in the truly magical play of childhood, it can do something magical for us as well.<\/p>\n

When’s the last time you ran barefoot in the grass with your child? <\/span> When’s the last time you jumped in a puddle?  <\/span>When’s the last time you squished your toes in the mud or built a sand castle? <\/span> Hopefully just this week!  If not, why not?  These things are fun!<\/p>\n

There’s even a bit of science behind the importance of play for all of us.  Playing outside gets us more sun exposure, which gives us more Vitamin D (deficiencies are linked to everything from lowered immune function to depression) and sunlight is also a natural mood lifter.  Physical exercise releases endorphins, which boost feelings of happiness and fight pain.  Sensory activities help ground us and redirect our attention from stressors.  Some movements that kids typically use in play (such as spinning, jumping and swinging) are even helpful for stabilizing our emotions and helping us focus later.  And laughing… well, that helps us in an infinite number of ways.
<\/span>Here’s some more ways to play today….<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n