Do you let your kids have unsupervised play? It’s a question that was posed by the team behind @Geniusofplay to help raise awareness about how play is a vital role in child development. It is also an important topic in my family, as the parent of a 7 and an 8 year old, both of whom are “spirited” to say the least. I’m the parent of a son, who absolutely must get out of the house by 10am or he goes stir crazy. However, we are city-dwellers, so we aren’t sending our kids out to the backyard to play, we are actually organizing activities and playdates on a regular basis. And, it means, we are always involved in playdates. So, this summer, we allowed the kids to have unsupervised playdates, because we were out of the city and scheduled playdates weren’t necessary. We have spent the summer going to the park, going to destinations and ultimately, getting out of the house.
Check out this video about the subject of “unsupervised play” on their YouTube channel HERE.
In a nutshell, unsupervised play has meant that the kids (MINE) may have been rude to another, had another kid rude to them, words may have been learned that I’m not such a fan of, but at the end of the day, the amount of independence, self-reliance and figuring out how to fend for themselves, in a nice way, has been life-changing. It’s not perfect, but these are life-lessons and so important. So, unsupervised play may come with some hiccups, but giving kids their independence and not having parents hover around, has been a good life lesson.
The Toy Association is focused on increasing awareness of the social, emotional, and physical benefits of play.
The Genius of Play team has released a new video series titled “Play Talk” that inspires important conversations and discussions about play, such as kids and screen-time, playtime at school, and the relationship between sports and play.
The topic of kids and play is an important one to have as parents. And, everyone has an opinion. Follow the team behind #Geniusofplay and the Toy Association for more information, discussion and resources on important parenting topics.
- https://www.facebook.com/geniusofplay
- https://twitter.com/TheToyAssoc
- https://www.instagram.com/geniusofplay/
The Genius of Play is a national movement spearheaded by The Toy Association to raise awareness about play’s critical role in child development and encourage more play in children’s lives. Its website offers information about the developmental benefits of play, fun play ideas sorted by age and developmental benefit, as well as expert advice from play and child experts ranging from child psychologists to play community activists.