My Connections to Play

“Play is a child’s Work.” ~Jean Piaget

“Play is our brain's favorite way of learning.”~ Diane Ackerman

“Play fosters belonging and encourages cooperation.” ~Stuart Brown, MD

I was supported in play with encouragement, love and positivity.  Play was an outlet for me as a child. I was one of six children and sometimes life was chaotic.  When I played, I was able to use my imagination, gross motor, fine motor, and language skills. I did not go to preschool, so my playmates were my siblings. We would build a fort, go on a tip to the beach and play “school” without leaving our backyard.

Today play is very different compared to when I was a child. Safety is a serious concern for families. My mom would let us play for hours outside or at a friend’s house with very little worries. Parents today have to watch their children very closely.

Play is very important to children’s social/emotional, cognitive, and physical development. Especially, social development because children need to know how to get along with one other. Social skills are ones that will be used for life.

“Play is so important to optimal child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child” (Ginsburg 2007).

Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd (2007). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. PEDIATRICS Vol. 119 No. 1 January 2007, pp. 182-191 (doi:10.1542/peds.2006-2697)

Relationship Reflection

Relationships are important to me because they offer a support and a foundation for a particular situation. Having someone to lean on can make even the bitterest of life's blows tolerable and the happiest just that more wonderful.  In addition, there is strong evidence that healthy relationships correlate strongly with people’s health and well-being. Conversely the health risks from being alone or isolated in one’s life are comparable in magnitude to the risks associated with cigarette smoking, blood pressure, and obesity. Clearly one important way to take care of yourself is to take care of your relationships.

There are many types of relationship that affect people in different ways.  The strongest and dearest relationships in my life are to God, my husband, my children, my mother and siblings, a few close friends, and my dog.

The relationship I have with God offers hope, calmness and a sense of being. The relationship I have with my husband offers true love, happiness, respect and passion.  The relationship I have with my children offers unconditional and pure love, respect, happiness, pride, and an emotion of being a mother in which I cannot explain.  Mine and my mother’s relationship provides love, security, and comfort.  The relationship I have with my siblings is fun-loving and brings a sense of belonging. The relationship I have with my friends offers support, a shoulder to lean on, and fun. Finally the relationship I have with my dog offers goofy love that only a dog can provide.

http://www.thenewmedicine.org/health_planner_info/relationships/understanding_relationships_are_important