#7 - Wholesome Play - 5 Min Read
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This week’s post comes to us from guest author, toy designer & play expert, Aishwarya Nair
Recently a mother wrote to me saying that “I can’t believe my 3-year-old has learned so much about outer space in 1 hour of playtime than my older child learned about the topic from all his books in grade 3. The younger one now plays those games with her friends, teaching them what she learned and is ever so eager to explore more about space on her own. I can’t believe a bunch of almost “silly-looking” games did all that.”
The thing is even the most simple-looking but well-thought playtime has tremendous power to positively impact your child’s entire life, from what they learn to what they become.
The global pandemic took away millions of children's everyday playtime, thereby taking away their best learning tool. As Vince Gowmon said, "Play is not a break from learning. It is endless, delightful, deep, engaging, practical learning. It's the doorway into a child's heart."
While many parents are trying their best to engage their kids with innovative activities and teaching methods, it is still not enough to make up for their missed learning. You may ask, what is so special about a child's playtime that makes it so difficult to replicate at home? The answer is - Wholesome Play.
Wholesome play is when kids get a balance of free open-ended exploration and directed play. Through this play, they get to test their motor skills, logical thinking skills, memory, problem-solving, emotional maturity, creativity, and more.
Children are naturally skilled at creating endless hours of wholesome play but it doesn't happen as effectively when they don't get to interact with nature and their friends as much. Which leaves it upon us, the adults in their life, to re-create wholesome play for them.
What is wholesome play?
Simply put, it is play that stimulates both body and the mind
It helps children develop their motor skills, cognitive skills, and creativity
It provides a balanced amount of directed play and open-ended playtime
Most importantly, it helps children think, explore and create while having loads of fun
How can we recreate wholesome play at home?
Get your child to interact with children as much as possible, even if it's virtual. It is the only way they get to test the boundaries of their emotional and social skills. In the long term, it can decrease the risk of depression and even reduce school drop-out rates!
Get them away from spending hours on mindless Youtube- watching by signing up for online interactive live activity classes. This will help them explore multiple senses and also socially develop with children their age. Here’s how early exposure to screen time can hinder language, social, emotional and physical development - https://theswaddle.com/effects-of-screen-time-on-children/
Get on the floor and play with them. They need to feel comfortable in this new setting of playing at home and your child will be the happiest if you are the one playing with them. Here are some options -https://www.todaysparent.com/toddler/20-fun-indoor-games/
Just playing board games is not enough, physical play is as important as mindful play. A quick fun way to do this is to add a movement-based twist to everyday games. For eg: Whenever they roll a 6, they need to do 3 jumping jacks. Here’s how experiential play can create a genius -
Think about this- the toddlers and kids today by far have the most challenging world to live in with rising global warming, spreading pandemics, changing political scenarios, wide use of AI, and bigger problems. They need to be equipped with vast skills and learning that can help them in the tough future. Though it sounds simple- Playing is one of the best methods to equip them with these skills. It is the most intricate research and learning tool known to children, and often even to adults.
P.S: Here’s another great option for 3 to 6 yr olds Play-dates for innovative methods of virtual playtime for your kids. They provide real-time experiential play without mindless screen-time. And the rumour is that they are starting a school purely focussed on playtime, teaching real human values needed for the new world!
Aishwarya Nair is a Bangalore based toy designer and play expert. In her career, she has created over 300 toys and activities for children between ages 0-13. She specializes in creating engaging playful experiences for children that both teach and entertain them.