Free Play

On this typical Crunchy Carpets Saturday morning, I should be banging out some articles that I owe people while it is relatively quiet around here.   Husband is on a call in his office, dogs have given up hope of any walks, Adam is upstairs (still not feeling better) Caity is tuned out on her ipod and Tara is playing with the Barbie collection.

Peace disturbed by whatever story she is laying out for the dolls.

It has been fascinating watching the playing styles of each kid.   I don’t know if gender has much to do with it all or how each child was raised during their early years, but each kid has played differently.

Adam was never one for ‘imaginative play’ with his toys.   At an early age he gravitated to typical boy things and had a vast collection of dinosaurs and then an even vaster collection of Hot Wheels.   But he never played with them in any sort of story mode.  The animals and cars were usually lined up with much care or set up looking like they were about to do something, but they never did.  That was it.  Adam always felt his job was complete when the set up was done.  It was the same with the trains and so on too.

Caity followed the gender stereotypes mostly and had the baby girls with their own beds and strollers and then the Fisher Price Little People (that Adam had had too come to think of it) but again, it seemed more like set up and honestly she is more focused on that to this day. I notice when she is playing “with” Tara, it mostly consists of her ‘setting’ up the toys for Tara and then walking away.   Caity is the more crafty of my three and prefers to draw or create things and prefers quiet and alone time to do so.

Tara is all about the imaginative play.  There are stories, drama and voices to go with whatever she has set up.   She has a deep love for My Little Pony and just now play goes between them and the Barbies that haven’t been eaten by the dogs.   It is quite fun to sit doing your thing and eavesdropping on the stories that unfold in overly loud whispers.   With the ponies some of the games are her retellings of the cartoons.   The rest unfolds from her own imagination.     She is the most like me in this respect.

I played for HOURS with whatever toys held my focus that day.   From farm animals, zoo animals, Lego (not pink), Sindy or my baby dolls, long and complicated stories played out.   I had a lot of ‘me’ time as a kid.  I was an only and there was a lot of quiet time of just me and mom at home.   I filled my time accordingly.   This seems to be the pattern now for Tara as she isn’t in pre-school and her siblings are at school, and I don’t have her in other structured activities.  When I am working, she has to find something to do and her imagination steps in to make things fun for her.    Adam had his sister from age two onward.   He won’t remember a time when he was alone.   Tara is being half raised as an only and I can see the differences.

I love playing with my kids but I also feel that you need to make sure your kids can entertain themselves and love being able to step away from them and see that they can create their own entertainment that doesn’t involve destroying my house.