The Power of Play Pushes Stress Away
We’re constantly on the go, juggling work and family responsibilities while trying to maintain some semblance of balance in our personal lives.
It’s no secret that play is important for children, but did you know it can have a positive impact on adults too? Playtime with your children helps to relieve stress and lowers blood pressure. It also boosts creativity which can be beneficial in the workplace. Play is an integral part of child development. Through play, children learn how to cope with stressors in their environment. In addition, play helps keep us mentally healthy because it reduces anxiety and depression symptoms.
Stress, adjustment and development
We can’t ignore that the pandemic has caused stress on our children in some form or other. Be it school closures, disruption in the household and bearing witness to social distancing.
In recent years, there has been a growing awareness of the influence that stress and adversity in early childhood can have on children’s adjustment. According to Children’s Museum of Sonoma County ‘Childhood stress can be experienced in any situation that requires a child to adapt or change.’ Excessive stress affects a child’s development mentally, emotionally and mentally (cmosc.org).
As we are aware and need to be reminded, babies and young children take cues from their parents and if parents are calm, children will be reassured (mcm.org). Therefore our stress management as parents is crucial to how our children behave and feel. Laughter, playfulness, touch, hugs and engagement with children will lower stress levels all round!
Counteract Stress with Play
It is a universal truth that children love to play. Play can be an escape, where children absorb deeply into what they are doing and forget about the troubles of their daily lives. Bringing a positive focus will bring calm and excitement. Control and competence can be learned from play and is a coping mechanism for scary circumstances and situations. Therefore play encourages resilience moulding young brains. (chicagochildrensmuseum.org).
Ideas for more playfulness this Festive Season
Feeling stale on play ideas? Build an obstacle course in the garden, blow bubbles and play with balloons, make Christmas cards with arts and crafts or open a world of fun and rent from our toy library. Shake off your day, get your hands dirty, run around in the garden and play! You deserve some time to just enjoy being a child again. We hope that we have inspired you to be a more playful parent!
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