Busy doing nothing!
How much time does your child have to choose what they want with no structure or adult involvement? When is their play truly led by them? Too often as an adult we are busy getting involved, feeling like we should be guiding, supporting and doing it with them. These interactions are of course really important, but is your child having enough time and space to be in the driving seat to direct their own play? Think about yourself and how having that time with no agenda, no structure is really important for your own wellbeing and when as an adult you don't get that space for yourself it can impact on your own energy and 'Zest' for life.
What is this time and space so important?
'I'm bored!' - how many times do we hear children say this, particularly when they get a little bit older? If we hold off and don't offer a solution to take the boredom away, then often the most rich, engaging and sustained play can immerge. And then there is more - your child is developing really critical skills. From imagination and creativity to confidence, self drive and independence all within a context that they have chosen and that interests them. Working alongside a group of children in an Early Years setting, it is really easy to see those children that are used to making choices and able to initiate play. They are often more confident and resilient, think for themselves and able to sustian play for longer without the need for adult direction. For a learner of any age or an adult in the workplace, what valuable skills these are!
Susie, ZestLab's outdoor play specialist, is really passionate about this and the one bringing you the ideas for the fortnightly ZestLab play challenges. You can follow these on instagram @zestlab.org.uk and contribute on the community forum page. You might also be interested in following ZestLab's very own 'mummy' on instragram.
In Suzie's words, and probably true for many parenting situations: 'the greatest gift you can give a child is time'.
Want to find out more about the ZestLab vitual community - you can join up here as a guest member in August 22 as we are going live for the parents of 0-5s.