1,000 words on just how easy it is for the word 'play' to be subsumed by other agendas and disapeer.
"This pushing aside of the word play has a long history and it tends to happen when the topic of play meets another, usually more powerful agenda. The word play becomes subsumed by that agenda and disappears which by default trivialises play into a lesser-importance."
"Anyone who works with children, particularly younger children, knows that some of the objects that find there way into pockets no matter how small or seemingly incidental are clearly more than meaningless."
This piece links one particular element of children's play with mysticism and the importance of objects in children's lives. A psychologist gets a mention ... but not in a good way.
QUESTION - What things have you been brought by children? What objects have you seen them collect and keep? How have they used these things?
"I realised how tempted I was to point out to these two adults why their boys could not contain themselves and note that they themselves were creating an impossible situation for themselves and their sons - but it would have been ugly. So I didn’t."
Parents and other adults can be oblivious to the effect their actions can have on the children around them and can sometimes sap the wonder from children's experiences. This story describes two such examples - one conscious the other not.
