“Mum / Dad will you play with me?” A tough question for any parent in this day and age. I haven’t got the time, I haven’t got the knowledge, I don’t know how. There’s somewhere where this beautiful request can fill us with dread rather than joy. There’s usually something else that we just have to do first, work to go to, dinner to make, washing to clean, bills to pay. Essentially grown up stuff that our children don’t have to understand yet. We do expect them to take on jobs around the house, it’s how we start preparing them for the big wide world, but it’s also good for us to pause our adult lives and remember that in our hearts we are all still children, learning and growing day by day. Surely we’ve all heard the governments and education systems telling us that children learn best through play so why are we so adamant in making everything a chore.
Brush your teeth, do your homework, have you tidied your room and so on… The truth is, and this is where the kids do get it right, is that it’s just not fair!
For some of us playing with our children is possibly the most daunting task we have to do for we have become so far removed from our child like wonder of the world that it becomes the hardest work to reconnect with that innocence, to stand still, be quiet and let them lead us for a change. We’re older now, been hurt too many times to mention and our hearts become closed off. We essentially are out of touch with our inner child.
The free family games day is an opportunity to reconnect with your own inner child whilst also being able to talk and play with other adults. Wherever possible I allow the children to create new games, share their ideas and encourage them to lead us the grownups into their world of play, which they are frankly so much better at us than us, when they’re not busy fighting amongst themselves!
I sincerely hope you will take the opportunity to get out of the daily routine, where dirty dishes, un-hoovered floors and mountains of paper work prevent us from being the kind of parents our kids wish we were. Once a month dedicate just two hours to really playing with your child(ren). They truly will appreciate it and it’s so worth it just for the smile, the hug and the love you will undoubtedly receive from your selfless act of play. You never know you might just enjoy it so much that all of a sudden the dirty dishes don’t matter any more. Since you now have the knowledge, you can make the time.
You and your children are more than welcome to join us at one of our upcoming events
Playing games with the children develops confidence, concentration, respect, listening, connection and love for everyone involved.