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GOOD OLD-FASHIONED PLAYTIME
Just this week The American Academy of Pediatrics reported that what children need most for healthy development is more good, old fashioned playtime, rather than full schedules and classes that could sap passion and creativity. The academy report says that numerous studies have shown that unstructured play has many benefits. It can help children become creative, discover their own passions, develop problem-solving skills, relate to others and adjust to school settings.
"Perhaps above all, play is a simple joy that is a cherished part of childhood," says the report, prepared by two academy committees at the group's annual meeting in Atlanta.
The report says a lack of spontaneous playtime can create stress for children and parents alike. If it occurs because young children are plopped in front of get-smart videos or older children lose school recess time, it can increase risks for obesity. It may even contribute to depression for many children.
Social pressures and marketing pitches about creating "super children" contribute to a lack of playtime for many families. But so does living in low-income, violence-prone neighborhoods where safe places to play are scarce, the report says.
It says enrichment tools and organized activities can be beneficial but should not be viewed as a requirement for creating successful children. Above all, they must be balanced with plenty of free play time, the report says.
Dr. Kenneth Ginsburg, the report's lead author and a pediatrician at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia said, "In the current environment where so many parents feel pressure to be super parents, I believe this message is an important one."
Dr. T. Berry Brazelton, a noted pediatrician and author, praised the report, saying, "I hope it will have some effect." Children overscheduled with structured activities "are missing the chance they have to dream, to fantasize ... that to me is a very important part of childhood."
Today there is so much peer pressure for young mothers to begin as early as their child's infancy to get them into "programs" to make their child intelligent. What very young children do not need is a strict regime of get-smart videos, gymnastics, ballet, karate lessons or T-ball games. Simply exposing them to good music while playing with blocks, dolls, cars and trucks, a magnifying glass, and toys that don't do all the thinking for them is what they do need. Romping on the floor with Mom and Dad, playing tag and hide-and-go-seek, catching bugs in a jar, watching ants in action, playing dress-up, and the list goes on! Ask your parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents what they did as small children, when there were very few toys and certainly few or no toys with batteries!
Although there are so many new toys that you may think your child or grandchild just has to have, dont forget these basic toys and activities that have been proven over years and years, to be favorites of children and no batteries are required! Many of these items can be found at yard sales and after they are cleaned up, your children wont care one bit that you didnt pay the full price.
Most of these activities may need some supervision by the parents in the beginning, but soon many toddlers, preschoolers and elementary school age children will be involved in their own individual playtime, using many of these ideas as they learn. You as their parent will be reaping the great reward of countless smiles and laughter as you watch and listen to their wonderful imaginative independent play! So Mothers, get out the scrap paper for lots of great kids' quotes and cute actions by your children as they play in these creative ways!
Blocks of all colors, sizes and shapes lots of them! Even empty salt boxes can be saved up for a great construction tool. I recommend that you remove the metal spout as a safety measure and cover at least the top with colorful contact paper. Then use different blocks together. Even picking up the blocks is a good lesson in sorting for your children.
Legos are for girls too not just boys. Just a few of the creative expressions are cars, trucks, houses, cities, castles, rocket ships, trains, people, frames around clocks, the ideas are endless!
Erector Sets, Lincoln Logs and Tinkertoys are other tried and true toys that teach creativity.
Puzzles are great fun for all ages, while at the same time teaching logic and patience.
Games like puzzles, are for all ages, and teach sportsmanship as well as getting along with others. Time spent playing games is a great way to bring family members of different generations together. You can find games now even for toddlers.
Balls can be used to kick, throw, shoot through a hoop, roll, bounce and even sit on. Endless possibilities!
Boxes are always a favorite of small children, much to the dismay of their parents who have bought an expensive gift, only to see their toddler toss it aside and play with the box for hours! Make use of boxes as toys and let your kids use their imagination! If you can find a very large box, why not cut out a door and a few windows for a play house? My dad made us a great house with a floor one summer and that is a special childhood memory for me.
Small Buckets or small plastic boxes are great for putting in and taking out, a favorite of toddlers. Plastic is good because it makes a noise, which they love. Save those bright colorful lids from liquid laundry detergents bright orange, yellow, red, blue, white. They can also be used in the bathtub as well as in the sand.
A Dress-Up Box with dress-up clothes from Goodwill, thrift shops and garage sales. You might want to keep them in a big old suitcase to be used in pretending to go on trips. Stair steps can be the seats of an airplane! You could play Hawaiian or Mexican music, depending on the destination of their pretend trip.
A Craft Box with crayons, colored pencils, paints, markers, scissors, stickers, glue, paper, and other art supplies will go a long way in providing hours of creativity for your children! Have another box of things that you save for them to use to make any kind of contraption they desire. Save paper plates, empty salt boxes, egg cartons, string, yarn, cardboard, old cards, plastic wrap tubes, and all kinds of things you have saved for creative play.
Clays in the form of playdough, salt ceramics, cornstarch clay, flour and salt dough and many others will provide fun and creativity. Books in the library will give even more ideas in this area.
Dolls teach young children how to be caring and loving. A bed can be made from a shoebox and covered with contact paper or glued on fabric. Then make a small blanket. Time spent creating toys with your children is a memory maker too.
Puppets and Muppets can be handmade or purchased for lots of creative fun! Find a book in the library on puppets and make a cardboard theater for puppet shows. This could be a special feature at your childrens birthday parties too.
A Toy Cash Register, Toy Money and a Toy Shopping Cart are the beginning of your childrens own store! Save empty food boxes. Children could add price stickers and learn math better while they have fun. Until children are old enough for the math, they can still have fun with a shopping cart, play food and cash register.
A Tent made from a folding table is a favorite of very young children, even if its just for hiding from everyone and playing peek-a-boo! Drape a large blanket or quilt over the table. Or you could sew a tent from heavy fabric, and include a door and windows to drape over a table!
A Bug Jar, Critter Cage and a Magnifying Glass will provide an outlet for exploration and learning.
A Sand Box with scoops, shovels, cars, trucks, buckets, and even a little water to be extra creative will fill many hours with fun! Save peanut butter buckets and colorful lids from liquid laundry detergents for the sand box. If it's too cold outside, pour rice into a large under-the-bed storage box for indoor play.
A Tree House built with Daddy as a special project and years of fun!
A Special Garden Spot for each child, if room is available, will teach planning, responsibility, appreciation for Gods vital role in growth, as well as pride and joy as your family eats the fruit of your childrens labor!
Good Music ~ As your children play, fill their minds with good things by way of Christian music. They learn so fast at this young age, so take advantage of it.
CD's with Scripture Memory ~ Allow the Word of God to soak into your children's minds as they play. There are many resources with scriptures for children, and they memorize so fast during childhood. If you don't believe that, just see how many commercials they can repeat.
Read Books ~ It goes without saying that reading books to your children should be at the top of this list, but I'll add it anyway, to be sure it isn't overlooked. Many children love to look at books and tell their own stories too. This is very good and develops their imagination, and is fun for those listening in!
Mix Colors ~ You may find you have a budding artist after this activity! Make playdough without food coloring (recipe below). Divide up into four sections and color three sections red, yellow and blue, using food coloring. Leave one white. Then mix the colors!
- blue with yellow to make green
- red with blue to make purple
- yellow with red to make orange
- blue with green to make teal
- each color with white to make it lighter - pink, peach, lilac, aqua, etc!
- Now have your child find the crayons in his box that match the colors he made!
- Thank God for the beautiful colors He made for us to enjoy!
Playdough ~ This Playdough is better than what you will find in stores, and lots of fun to make with your children!
1 cup flour
1 cup water
1 Tbsp. oil
1/2 cup salt
2 tsp. cream of tartar
food coloring
Blend in blender. Cook about 5 minutes in a Teflon pan sprayed with Pam. Let cool. Wrap well in plastic wrap and it will last a long time. If it dries a bit, just add a few drops of water and work into the dough. This does not need refrigerated. It is fun to make blue, yellow and pink ~ then mix colors to make orange, purple and green. Another method of adding color as well as fragrance like coconut, spearmint or peppermint, would be to add Kool Aid, rather than food coloring and fragrance. It's better added to playdough than drinking anyway, with the high sugar content.
Beanbags ~ Sew up some round beanbags, leaving an opening. Turn right side out. Let the children fill with dried beans or rice. Hand sew shut with a double thread. Toss back and forth to each other.
Beanbag Toss ~ Using beanbags and a hoola hoop on the floor, toss the beanbags into the circle. You can also make a circle with a ribbon. Do not leave a ribbon, rope or cord with young children unattended, however, as it is can be a hazard if it gets pulled tightly around somebody's neck.
Jump Over the River ~ Lay out two ribbons or ropes on the floor, parallel to each other. Again, take caution and do not leave alone with a young child. Two yardsticks work great too! Put them close together at first. Have the children jump over the river! Move them farther and farther apart and see who keeps his feet dry the longest! To add more adventure, you could put a stuffed animal into the river, pretending he is just waiting to grab a foot. Only do this if it's not too scary for the children. You be the judge.
Dump Truck Alphabet Game ~ Using toy letters of the alphabet, ask your child to drive to the "Alphabet Store" to buy you an "A". Your girls may want to use a baby buggy to shop!
Scrap Paper ~ Ask at offices for stacks of scrap paper that they would normally throw out. Let your children draw, color and paint using that paper. Your local newspaper may also have rolls of unused newsprint that they will give you.
Marching Band ~ Using pots and pans, have a marching band. Wrap a comb with wax paper and you have a kazoo to hum out your own tunes.
Tent ~ Make a tent using a blanket over a card table.
Playhouse ~ Using a huge box, cut out windows and a door for endless fun!
Train ~ Line up boxes or chairs to make a train.
Airplane Control Panel ~ Save all kinds of colorful and shiny lids. Using a cardboard box, glue on saved lids of all colors to make an airplane control panel. Shampoo lids flip open - use those too. Kids love to open and close them. Hot glue should work well to fasten the lids to the box. Since some lids are small and could be swallowed, however, be sure not to leave a child under three years of age unattended.
Small Trampoline ~ Let the kids take turns jumping with supervision to use up some of their energy!
Exercise time ~ Jumping Jacks, Touch the Toes, Reach for the Sky!
Rub Your Tummy ~ Have your children try rubbing their tummy, while tapping the top of their head at the same time.
In and Out ~ Lay out blocks or objects at 3 or 4 foot intervals (outdoors works best). Have your children run or walk to the left, then to the right - in and out.
Preposition Commands ~ Ask your young child to follow simple commands, which include words such as, "in, out, on, off, over, under, beside, through, below, above, between, around."
Action Commands ~ Ask your young child to follow simple action commands, which include words such as, "walk, run, jump, fly, climb, skip, hop, wobble, limp, smile, cry, laugh, look up, turn around, clap your hands, sit down, stand up, fall down, jump up, lie down, go to sleep!"
Blocks ~ Build a tower, house, a road. Creativity will expand the possibilities!
A City in Your Driveway ~ Draw roads in your driveway with chalk. Add a church, school, fire station, etc. Then drive tricycles and Big Wheels on the roads.
Matchbox Play ~ Using a yard or so of fabric, draw roads and a town with permanent markers for your children to drive the cars around.
Paint the House ~ Paint the outside of the house with water, using large paint brushes.
Squirt or Spray Bottles ~ Squirt or spray each other with water in bottles - outside, of course!
Press Flowers ~ Pick flowers and press between two paper towels and place a few heavy books on top for several days or until they dry. Help your child make a greeting card to send to Grandma and Grandpa!
You might want to change your sofa and chairs by covering them with rich warm autumn hues - mixing a warm patterned quilt on the sofa and solid pieces of coordinating fabric on the chairs. Change the tie backs on your curtains, add pillows, throws, quilts in autumn colors, if you want.
I'm sure you won't want to try all of these ideas - I don't. You might want to choose just a few to start out and add to your fall decorations for a few years. Don't overdo though, or it may grow to be as much work as putting up and taking down Christmas decorations!
When when you take down your autumn decorations - items you won't use until next fall, store them all together in large plastic covered storages containers, and label them for easy access for the following year. Let your children join in the fun of decorating too!
Years ago oil based paint for the home used to contain lead, and could cause lead poisoning if children teethed on painted furniture or windowsills. So it's a miracle that some of us even grew to adulthood, with all the hazards during our childhood! Not only did many of our homes have lead paint, but we didn't even have car seats and seat belts back then!
Good news for parents and children of today! Household paint containing lead has not been sold for years! However, althought most candles have lead free wicks, some imported candles are still sold with lead in the core of their wicks and they are hazardous to the health of us all. Heavy metals such as lead and mercury are known to cause birth defects, so this is something to check out and take seriously.
Before purchasing candles or burning the ones you already have, be sure the wicks are "lead free." There are four ways to be sure a candle wick is lead free.
According to the National Candle Association, the majority of wicks manufactured today in the U.S. are made entirely of cotton, with no metal cores. Those few wicks made with metal are typically zinc-core wicks. All of these wicks are safe, so there is no need to eschew metal wicks, just lead ones.
You might plan to simply spread the aroma by use of a candle warmer. I love candle warmers and Pfaltzgraff has many beautiful designs. However the fragrance will eventually disappear if using a candle warmer. When it does, you could make fragrance free candles to burn - or add more fragrance.
Another choice you have is to pour the wax into another glass or pottery container, maybe even make several votive candles, and insert safe lead free wicks. After the wax solidifies with the new wick, freeze the candle, then burn as desired. Freezing candles causes them to burn more slowly, providing more hours of enjoyment - another way to stretch your dollar.
