How to Give Children the Gift of Play

I wanted to follow up on my previous post on giving children the gift of play where I discussed how important it is to provide children with time to just play but how difficult that can be sometimes as a busy parent. Trust me, I know how difficult it is, especially with our fast paced schedules of today. Rather than just succumb to turning on electronic devices of all kinds here are 5 tips to help give children the gift of play:

Make play a priority. Sometimes we have to say no to certain outings, events or activities. Family life is challenging enough but down time where kids can just be kids is a necessity for children.
Allow for independence. If your children are old enough, leave them alone. Don’t hover. This will help you and them. They will argue and settle it without you ever even hearing it all! They will fail and succeed and you will only hear about the success stories.
Provide some lead in activities. Sometimes, children need a little guidance and direction so you can set the stage. For example, print off some pages from the Doctor and Hospital pretend play packet and leave them on the table with a clipboard and a pen. The kids can then continue to play from there to create an imaginative world.
Make yourself busy but with nothing too exciting. If you are busy completing a task, most likely the kids will occupy themselves with play. If you are busy watching videos on your phone, most likely the kids will surround you (Murphy’s Law). Choose wisely.
Schedule it! I know that may sound ridiculous to some parents but since there are 6 kids in our house and 2 adults with insane schedules if we didn’t set aside time for play my kids would lose out.

Need more activity ideas to help set the stage for free play?

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