To me, play sometimes served as my getaway. From a
long day of school and coming home completing my homework, it was a relief to
be able to go outside on a nice sunny day and play. Whether riding my bike,
playing hopscotch and jump rope or simply playing freeze tag and kick ball with
the other children in my neighborhood, I always found joy in play.
Although I had many play items as a child, these three
were some of my favorites. The Poly Pocket, which was a miniature dollhouse
that came in a compact case, a Tamagotchi and an Easy Bake Oven. All three of
these items were beneficial in my play because they taught me how to maintain
and care for people and things and also gave me an idea on how to bake foods
which I could carry on into my adulthood.
My mother was my biggest supporter of play when I was
younger because she knew how much I enjoyed it. My mother supplied me with play
items that sparked my interest and hardly ever complained about it and took me
to parks on Saturdays and watched me play. Knowing how much I loved to swim, my
mother would also take me to the pool with my friends and we would really enjoy
ourselves. I appreciate the fact that I was fortunate enough to have a parent
that actually supported and allowed me to play.
Play today is not as good as it used to be when I was
a child. Technology is taking over the minds of young children with the making
of these new gadgets such as iPhones, iPods and iPads. I think that these items
are ok for children to have, but the consumption of time children spend using
these items is a little too much that necessary. Most children now would rather
spend more time on these gadgets instead of going out to play, ride a bike or
other developmental ways of play, which is not very healthy and is causing
children to be more withdrawn. The fact that play is almost close to becoming
extinct in schools is making this situation worse.
When I was a child, we were forced to go outside and
play with our friends when it was convenient and safe because our parents knew
how important it was. Using our imagination and role playing came easy for us.
Now, some parents would rather their children stay in the home and play with
the electronic devices they have in the home, just to keep them out of their
hair. I
just hope that Children are guided back to the old-school way of play and
receive the actual long-term benefits of it. WE NEED PLAY!
