Letting our kids get enough play and how to provide the best type of play.
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Are we letting our kids play the right way?
The question of letting our kids play enough might sound strange coming from such a strong advocate for kids working on the farm and personal responsibility. But come on, I’m not a slave driver. Plus, play is as necessary for development as any part of growing up. In fact, I would say (and many experts agree), that play is probably one of the most important parts of development!
Play is something that has been slowly taken away from children, especially in the public school systems. Now this isn’t an article talking about the merits or demerits of types of schooling. I am just saying that if your kids are in public school, you will need to be more vigilant about providing ample opportunities for play, even for the teenagers. Public schools have reduced the amount of time that a child gets to play just 15 minutes every couple of hours, then they are sent home with a pile of homework to do in between structured activities or their hour-long bus ride home.
What is letting our kids play?
What we need to understand first is what “play” is. Play is not a pre-planned, structured, and completely supervised activity. Play is allowing children to use their imagination. Play is running and laughing until their sides hurt. Playing following a bug on their hands and knees across the yard. Play is getting so dirty you consider hosing them off in the yard before they are allowed to come through the door. Play also allows children to disagree and work it out themselves. Play is coming up with a new rule for a new game.
Besides the obvious of just letting kids be kids, why is this kind of play so important? This kind of play teaches kids problem-solving, conflict resolution, independence, and confidence. Kids have been found to have less mental health issues and a stronger sense of self when allowed to be free on a regular basis. This has also been found to be amplified when the kids are allowed to have this play outside.
Letting our kids play outside
We are blessed to have land that I know many people don’t have. But we will often send kids outside to play for hours on end, essentially unsupervised, to create their own entertainment. They will play with trucks in the dirt pile. They will ride their bikes as fast as they can down the hill. They will build forts and worm farms. And sometimes, I will get lucky enough that in their eventual boredom, they will pull weeds or sweep the patio.
If you don’t have the availability to let your kids run free on your property or in a safe neighborhood, parks and recreational areas are great options. With options for working remotely, if you still need to work, take the kids to the park and work from a picnic table. Because part of the goal of not being a helicopter parent means you shouldn’t be following them around the park anyways.
Getting kids to play without electronics
Another thing to consider is keeping kids off the electronics. I know it is hard to keep the kids off the electronics, but there are great options for putting them on a schedule. We often say no free electronic time during daylight hours when the weather is reasonable. There are also certain electronics we don’t allow at all. Such as role playing games, not because of content but because of addiction tendencies. Games should not be treated like a job.
If your kids have a hard time finding things to do, you can consider a practice called strewing. It’s where you place educational or entertaining items where they can find them and play with them as they see fit. This is not structured or organized play or learning time. I like ambiguous items like plain blocks, art supplies, and outdoor identification books.
Way to let your kids play
If your kids have a hard time finding things to do, you can consider a practice called strewing. It’s where you place educational or entertaining items where they can find them and play with them as they see fit. This is not structured or organized play or learning time. I like ambiguous items like plain blocks, art supplies, and outdoor identification books.
Inspiration in letting kids play
If you’re feeling frustrated with the rat race of life with kids, it might be time to reassess what vision you have for your family. A free lifestyle with more self-sufficient kids could be more easily attainable than you realize. Do what feels right for your family, and don’t listen to the voices of others that don’t understand what you and your spouse know is best.
The new standard of parenting has been yelled from the rooftops by authors like:
- Ginny Yurich – Until The Street Light Come On
- Jill Winger – Old Fashioned on Purpose
- Durenda Wilson – Raising Boys to Men
- Matt Beaudreau – Collaborative Homeschooling
- Joel Salatin – Homestead Tsunami
With the presence of social media and a pride in swimming upstream, this generation of parents has a real hope that we can halt and turn around the damage that has been done over the last century to factory-farmed children.
If you’re interested in a community of parents who are raising self-sufficient children, who are often homeschooled or life on a homestead, join the Homesteading Kids Challenge on Instagram Apri 15-19, 2024 for daily inspiration, prompts to grow your circle, and of course prizes!
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