Quotes Representing Play in My Childhood
Essential Play Items for My Younger Self
When I was younger playing outside was something that I looked forward to everyday. I lived in a neighborhood filled with children my age and we played together everyday going from house to house. During the summer time we would be outside as early as 8 or 9, and stay outside until the sun went down. We would always stop for lunch or a snack at somebodies house, but we would go right back to playing together. My dad would be out working in the yard most of the time so he would listen and watch all of us for the most part. All of the moms would have the front doors open watching us play. As we got all we transitioned to playing more organized games such as baseball or kickball in my front yard because it was the biggest. Our parents never stopped us from playing together, and we were all always welcomed to each others home to play.
In my opinion, play doesn’t exist in the lives of young children anymore. Now children are glued to tablets, Ipads, gaming devices, and cellphones. I rarely see children out playing in the yard or riding bikes and scooters like we did when I was younger. I hope that things could go back to the way they were when I was younger regarding play, but I really don’t see that happening with the world that we live in today. I also believe that it is not entirely the children’s fault that they don’t get outside and play. Neighborhoods are no longer safe as they were and you can’t trust any and everybody around your child. I always said that when I start my own family that I want to live in a nice quiet neighborhood with a fenced in backyard filled with all the things that I enjoyed playing with as a child so that my children can enjoy being a child just as I did.
Play during my childhood gave me the opportunity to explore and have fun. I learned how to make friends and maintain those relationships. When my friends and I would get into a disagreement we easily made up and continued to play together. The friendships that I developed during play with my neighborhood friends carried on all throughout school and some of those friendships still exist now. The social and emotional skills that I gained through play are still relevant in my life today. I have no problem meeting new people and creating relationships, and I am very empathetic towards others. If I did not have my childhood friends to play with I believe that my social skills would not be as strong as they are now.
Early Childhood Studies 
Chelsie
Thanks for sharing your connections to play with us. It seems you had what I call “the fairy tale” childhood. Its something I always saw on television and I wish I had for myself. Unfortunately I grow up in a neighborhood that wasn’t very safe and we did not have gassed outside just the concert jungle of Brooklyn. But still we had our time when everything came together and with some caution we still had opportunities to play outside. How fun it must have been to be the house where everyone came to play. I agree children of today are being deprived of these amazing experiences that we had when were younger. But in a time when technology has taken over and we are unable to trust that people will steal our children, how can we expect them to have a life like we did? I have four girls and I am scared everyday for them. I fear my oldest might get kidnapped just walking home from school. This world is not what it use to be at all and that is a very sad reality.
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I also enjoyed playing in the yard when i got home from school. My grandma and papa always allowed me to play outside and explore. i had these two best friends when i was younger and we would always do what you did, eat a snack at one of our houses and go back to playing. We would drink water from the faucet outside so that we did not have to go in the house. I agree that i dont see children outside much because of the video games and computers. this day and age when we see children outside we think they are doing something they have no business. Parents and adults are always complaining about children being outside doing wrong. i want to see children outside enjoying themselves and the people around them.
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Chelsie,
I enjoyed reading your post. It was very similar to my childhood. I spent a lot of time playing outside and in the neighbor. There was family that lived across the street from me who had a girl that was the same age as me. We began best friends and spent a lot of time together. There was a couple of other families that lived in the neighbor that had children the same age so we would go to each others houses and play there. We also would walk to the park and to school to play on their equipment. It was so nice to be able to have this freedom and not have to worry about what children to now. It makes me sad to know that most of the children growing up now don’t have this freedom. Thanks for sharing.
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Hi Chelsie,
Our play experiences were the same for the most part. I can remember going to the neighbor’s house for popsicle. It is amazing how today’s children are not able to play outside. I have even heard children talk about how they don’t want to go outside because it is hot or too sunny. I just laugh when they tell me things like that.
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Chelsie,
We share a love of the outdoors! When I was growing up there was no internet, and Atari came out in 1977, but it was the late 80’s before I got one. Even then, I preferred the woods and outdoors. As an adult I am the same way, I don’t play apps or video games, and do not encourage my daughter or students to! When my daughter and I go to my father’s house “in the country,” I let my daughter run free. She typically will go get a rake and bucket and go to the edge of the woods on his property to see what she can find. Right now I won’t let her go off by herself, but I always take the time to take her on a walk through the woods on my Dads land. I believe she can learn as much out in the woods as she could sitting down in a classroom with a science book laying in front of her!
Carmen
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