How To Connect With Your Kids During Play
There is a golden rule for connecting with your children during play: respect the child’s rules. It’s his game, he’s the boss. This, in the experience of Diomar Romero, mother of a five-year-old girl and a 15-year-old teenager, is crucial and as important as actually getting involved in the playful activity. “Playing without structures is a boon to an adult’s mind,” he says.
Importance of the game
Playing is an essential activity for the development and training of children, as most texts on pedagogy ensure, among them the one entitled Einstein did not memorize, he learned by playing . Diomar Romero expresses that this is a kind of verb for children, he says this because his daughter tells him: I want to play at bathing, I want to play at eating, I want to play at sleep…
“Playing is essential. It is so much that it should be normal for pediatricians to ask us for data about the hours of play for our children, because the quality and quantity of hours of play for the child will result in knowledge, attitudes and social skills necessary for adult life”, explains the psychologist Rosa Jove in her book Ni berriches ni rabietas (something like Sem tantrums , in Portuguese).
Romero agrees with the book and recommends sitting down on the floor to play with the children, disconnecting your cell phone and giving yourself over to the playful activity.
The mother of two explains that through these strategies she can get information from her children, which would otherwise be more difficult.
“My daughter told me that she wants to play Mario Bross, that means I must do Mario’s voice. On these occasions, I take the opportunity to ask how it was at school, how you feel, “says the mother, who recommends respecting the child’s rules and not imposing her own, as it is about unstructured and imaginative games, without a defined objective, without prizes .
This free communication channel, as this mother describes, also serves to teach her child: “while I bathe her, I explain the parts of the body; while you eat, I tell you what each cutlery is for.”
However, be subtle. A pedagogue interviewed on the Spanish television program Redes , entitled Don’t bother me Mom, I’m learning , warns: the game is magic, but if the child realizes that the adult is taking advantage, the charm disappears and the game is over.
play for real
“When playing with your children, you need to be involved, to be there, otherwise they will notice and it is very likely that they will catch your attention or be offended. Also, doing this is a gift for you as a mother, it’s not a favor you’re doing your child,” says Romero.
Really play, there’s the secret! These moments, the mother emphasizes, give her the possibility to laugh at sensitive things and enjoy: playing freely is a blessing for an adult’s mind!
Remember that the time you share with your child is one of the best ways to establish stable, intimate, and lasting bonds or connections. If these are narrowed through moments of play, they will surely be a gratifying memory.
Connect with your kids with video game
Video games offer options for the whole family to participate, argues the American speaker and writer Marc Prensky, who says that these devices emotionally influence children because they motivate them to achieve goals, invite them to cooperate and teach them to take risks.
“ These platforms make parents, grandparents and children participate in the same game, each with their own level and abilities”, says Prensky, a recognized educational visionary who advocates the use of video games to improve education.
