Say it loud and say it proud
May. 31st, 2005 08:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
linda_joyceOK I'm making this official, I am a 'Grumpy Old Woman'. I am sitting here reading e-mails etc and listening to Breakfast TV when a bite about 'play deprivation ' in children came on. Some psychologist has come to the conclusion that children need three types of play daily, physical, constructive and imaginative. It then went on to give examples of how parents could ensure their children got what was needed.
Parents should ensure children play!!!
I am about the least social person I know, even as a child I would much prefer to sit with a book than go out and find someone to play with, I suppose I was lucky that I didn't have to, the girls gang came and found me most of the time. About half of that gang were girls the parents that were on TV would not allow near their 'play deprived children', too poor, not good at school, basically the wrong side of the tracks type people but Oh boy could they invent some lovely games, when you have nothing you learn to improvise. Lesson one to today's parents 'Don't judge a child by their clothes'
A viewer called in that children couldn't play in her area as there were no facilities. Well there weren't that many in mine we had a park with swings, roundabout see-saw and slide, when we played there we played on the old fallen oak more often then the play ground. That oak was everything from Blackbeards pirate ship to a space ship via a Conestoga waggon heading west. When we weren't playing there we were in the woods being Robin Hood and his Merry men or in some ones back garden playing in the shed. That someone was mostly Janet and her shed contained a pearl beyond price :- real live ferrets. She was one of the wrong side of the racks children and those ferrets worked for their living hunting rabbits for the pot. Yes I was lucky, I grew up in the country and at a time when we weren't bombarded with scare stories about the big bad world, it was probably as bad 40 years ago as it is today we just didn't worry about it so much, we just knew better than to go anywhere with strangers and quite honestly we rarely saw a stranger in my little village. Town children don't have it so good but there are always gardens, lesson two Gardens should be places of fun not something you could transplant to Chelsea with out altering it, your children will enjoy it more and play more.
When we went out to play you would have had difficulty telling the very poor ones from the comparatively well off ones as we had play clothes, Jumpers and cardi's specially knitted by Mams and Grans from wool recovered from old garments of adults, skirts and tops that had been bought new for school but were washed out or barely fitted cause we had grown, things that didn't matter if they got muddy or grass stained or torn and they did frequently.
Lesson three Don't dress your child in Monsoon to play in and they will be more likely to play not stand around like a shop dummy afraid to do anything because you will yell at them if they get dirty.
Finally lesson four Give them something to play with, I don't mean equipment I mean imagination, read to them when they can't read themselves, let them read when they can, and I mean stories everything from Classical Mythology to the latest Harry Potter via trashy horror books. Let them watch TV but make sure it is something that will feed their imagination, there are some great childrens serials on the BBC at the moment. Keep the computer games to the minimum, I know easier said than done but it should be possible, here speaks the childless but back when I was a child when Mam said 'NO' in the right tone of voice we knew she meant it and didn't argue. Learn that tone of voice life will be easier for everyone including your child if you do.
Rant over
Parents should ensure children play!!!
I am about the least social person I know, even as a child I would much prefer to sit with a book than go out and find someone to play with, I suppose I was lucky that I didn't have to, the girls gang came and found me most of the time. About half of that gang were girls the parents that were on TV would not allow near their 'play deprived children', too poor, not good at school, basically the wrong side of the tracks type people but Oh boy could they invent some lovely games, when you have nothing you learn to improvise. Lesson one to today's parents 'Don't judge a child by their clothes'
A viewer called in that children couldn't play in her area as there were no facilities. Well there weren't that many in mine we had a park with swings, roundabout see-saw and slide, when we played there we played on the old fallen oak more often then the play ground. That oak was everything from Blackbeards pirate ship to a space ship via a Conestoga waggon heading west. When we weren't playing there we were in the woods being Robin Hood and his Merry men or in some ones back garden playing in the shed. That someone was mostly Janet and her shed contained a pearl beyond price :- real live ferrets. She was one of the wrong side of the racks children and those ferrets worked for their living hunting rabbits for the pot. Yes I was lucky, I grew up in the country and at a time when we weren't bombarded with scare stories about the big bad world, it was probably as bad 40 years ago as it is today we just didn't worry about it so much, we just knew better than to go anywhere with strangers and quite honestly we rarely saw a stranger in my little village. Town children don't have it so good but there are always gardens, lesson two Gardens should be places of fun not something you could transplant to Chelsea with out altering it, your children will enjoy it more and play more.
When we went out to play you would have had difficulty telling the very poor ones from the comparatively well off ones as we had play clothes, Jumpers and cardi's specially knitted by Mams and Grans from wool recovered from old garments of adults, skirts and tops that had been bought new for school but were washed out or barely fitted cause we had grown, things that didn't matter if they got muddy or grass stained or torn and they did frequently.
Lesson three Don't dress your child in Monsoon to play in and they will be more likely to play not stand around like a shop dummy afraid to do anything because you will yell at them if they get dirty.
Finally lesson four Give them something to play with, I don't mean equipment I mean imagination, read to them when they can't read themselves, let them read when they can, and I mean stories everything from Classical Mythology to the latest Harry Potter via trashy horror books. Let them watch TV but make sure it is something that will feed their imagination, there are some great childrens serials on the BBC at the moment. Keep the computer games to the minimum, I know easier said than done but it should be possible, here speaks the childless but back when I was a child when Mam said 'NO' in the right tone of voice we knew she meant it and didn't argue. Learn that tone of voice life will be easier for everyone including your child if you do.
Rant over
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Date: 2005-05-31 09:58 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-31 10:47 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-05-31 11:03 am (UTC)We had TV, but it never stopped us playing; in fact it inspired some games. [shrug]