Today I did a therapy session with a kiddo who built a fort under the kitchen table. Complete with a lamp, Legos and snacks….oh and a kitty that visited to say hi. It was so fun! We built with Legos and talked about feelings. It really reminded me of the magic of childhood and the importance of play.
It’s kind of funny to me now, but I haven’t always been good at playing. (I find it funny because my biggest complaint about telehealth today is that I don’t get to play with my kiddos!) I wasn’t great at playing with my kids when they were little. I think I had all these ideas in my head about getting it “right” and I was so overwhelmed with trying to be a good mom that I had a hard time relaxing and just playing. That was one of my biggest fears about doing play therapy as well. What do you mean we’re just going to play? Is that even therapy?
Turns out it is therapy. One could argue that it’s actually the very best kind of therapy for children. In play is where kids explore their feelings and thoughts and ideas. They get to be the superhero and save the day or play the bad guy and explore what happens when things are chaotic or we don’t follow the rules. Children are experts at imagining and seeing the world for more than just what is on the surface. When we play with them we get to experience that too. When we play with them we get to know them, we are given a very sacred invitation to their inner world.
Play is a child’s work and this is not an idle pursuit.
Alfred Adler
The good news is that we don’t even have to know how to do it right. Kids will tell us how if we don’t know. Often kids tell me, “Okay, now you take your Barbie and you go over there because you’re going to the store, okay?” They narrate and explain and give step by step instructions on how to play. If I divert they will get me back on track and explain how this playing thing is supposed to go. That was one of my big hangups, not knowing “how” to play. Turns out that all that is required is to show up, follow their lead and have an open mind.
We all need to spend more time playing. As adults that may look like doing art, watching a funny show, going to the park and watching kids play. If we have kids then that’s easy because all we need to do is ask, “Can I play with you? What are we doing?” If you don’t have kids then you can find other ways to play by spending time with friends, starting a new hobby or just going outside to find shapes in the clouds. It is an essential need that we have as human beings, to recharge, to sit in wonder at the beauty of the world, to…
