My Connection To Play

My Connection to Play

“Play is…more than just fun. Plenty of play in childhood makes for happy, smart adults – and keeping it up can make us smarter at any age.” Stuart Brown

“When you asked me what I did in school today

and I say, 'I just played.' Please don’t misunderstand

me. For you see, I am learning as I play. I am

learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.

Today I am a child and my work is play.”

Anita Wadley, 1974.

The following three toys are the toys I remember the most as a kid. Connect Four is just an all time classic! It teaches strategy techniques! I even play this now with my middle school kids! So much fun! Chutes and Ladders is so memorable because my grandmother used to sit and play this with me all the time! We always played board games and I believe us spending quality time like this together made us really close. Last but no least is the "vintage" Barbie Doll Skates! Not only did i have the skates I had the knee and elbow pads and helmet to match! My mom was all about safety when I began to literally, "hi the ground rolling"! 

 (I cannot believe these are considered vintage now! )

When I was younger play was just apart of life. Not video games, cell phones and/or tv. While all of that was available to us, nothing was better than getting with my friends in the neighborhood to laugh, talk, play, race and what ever else we wanted to do. My mom encourages my sister and I to play all the time, more like forced us out of the house for the day. During play I learned how to get along with others, communication and even conflict resolution. When you are outside all day with pretty much the same group of people everyday, there is bound to be some disagreement. Well, we had to learn to solve that on our own or go in the house. No one wanted to go in the house so we figured things out. I wish my parents were more involved with some of my outside play. I think that would have done wonders for our relationship. However, my grandfather did play with me outside. He taught me how to ride a bike. He would even sit outside and watch me play. That was enough to show me that he really cared and that he appreciated outside play.


In 2016 play has changed drastically. Children are more inclined to lean towards technology. Such as iPads, computers and phones. I have to put some blame on the parents though. As a child my mom made sure I had limited screen time whether it was intentional or not I am grateful for it. Play for me was simply getting my sister and friends going outside and creating fun. I love technology and some of the games are cool. But even as an adult I don't have games on my phone nor am I interested in video games. Going into the future I would like to see more parents actually physically play outside with their children. Not only will help the bond, but it also helps the family stay healthy. Thus preventing possible childhood obesity which is spreading due to lack of physical activities.


It wasn't until this assignment where I was able to really see how play was and still is a big part of my life. I enjoyed life as a child. And I am carrying that into my adulthood. Play is how we interact, how we learn about each other and how we learn to communicate. We need those same things as an adult. When we go out to eat or have drinks with new people that is a form of play. We laugh, we learn and grow.