When was the last time you played with your children just for the fun of it?

I was trying to recall how it was like when I was a kid. I remember playing for the entirety of the day and not really having to care much about whether or not I got to learn something new. Since I grew up having a nanny to take care of me throughout the day, I don’t think there really was any thought on “learning” everytime we played. All I know is that when I was a kid, I played and I had fun. Until now, I still can’t reconcile my dad’s stories on how early I caught on concepts since I don’t recall any “early childhood education techniques” that were used on me.

It’s very different now. Since I became pregnant with Alyanna and up until the present, these are the words that come to mind when we talk about play:

Infant stimulation

Playing with purpose

Educational toys

Educational games

Thinking games for kids

Games for learning

How to play so kids can learn

In short, we have been conditioned to think that the major criterion for “great” games is if it serves the purpose of teaching our kids. When it comes to toys, all marketers need to do is attach the word “educational”, and most of us are immediately enticed into buying them.

I find myself falling into this kind of thinking a lot of times. In fact, I am guilty of sometimes giving Dennis that “why are you playing with that, that’s not even educational” look every time he and the girls play with his action figures. But then I remember: isn’t playing supposed to be for fun, too??

Of course it’s great that God has wired our children to learn as they play and go about everyday life. It is a good thing to consider the objectives of our play and to choose games that are purposeful…as long as we keep in mind that one of the greater purposes is for us to have fun and build good memories with our children.

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