Make PLAY your family heritage
20 September 2024
Hey South Africans, happy Michaelmas holiday! During this quick 10 day break, on Tuesday 24 September in South Africa we celebrate Heritage Day (also known as Braai Day!) On this day, we celebrate heritage and culture; who we are, where we come from and what we value. The South African braai is the thing that unites all cultures in our country, a wonderful way of bringing people of diversity together -food, of course!!
Photo by Paul Hermann on Unsplash
Heritage is defined as something transmitted by or acquired from a predecessor; a legacy or inheritance.
Here is my challenge to parents this holiday; make PLAY with your children part of the legacy you leave them. There is nothing else that can replace face-to-face time between parent and child. Jonathan Haidt in his book The Anxious Generation talks about the decline of the play-based childhood, that safety concerns caused parents to curb children’s play outdoors followed by the advent of smart phones and social media shifting childhood from play-based to phone-based.
One of the ways I believe we can re-introduce play back into children’s lives is for parents to make lots of time to play with their children. Safety the world over is a concern in many places, yes. And so it would make sense to make it safe for your children, venture out with them into the great outdoors and explore together.
In South Africa, I do not think we are yet aware of the damage that has and is being done by children being immersed in screens. It is a matter of normalcy now. For example, see a 3 year old at a social event walking around with nose pressed against a screen, choosing the phone instead of playing with the peers around her. We allow it to happen because “it’s the way kids are now.”
In this matter, let’s go against the way things are. Let’s be different. And no, I don’t think it’s possible to have both. I think we as parents get to shape the experience our children have. We can allow them to have a phone-based childhood by putting a smart phone in their hands when they’re 5, or we can normalise play-based childhood, the outdoor world, exploration, and face-to-face conversations.
Photo by Markus Spiske on Pexels
Play has enormous benefits, in fact, children cannot thrive without it. It has physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and creative benefits that contribute to their holistic development. No amount of Youtube videos or online courses can replace play in all its forms.
If we want to advocate for a play-based childhood, we have to step up and help facilitate the play. By playing with our children face to face as often as possible, and also by ensuring they have safe play opportunities when we can’t be with them.
What is your opinion?
Can a child have a phone-based and play-based childhood? Or is it one or the other?
Play ideas!
Here are some previous blog posts with ideas of games and things to play.
