Want to know how to get to know your kids? Play with them.
What do retreat organizers do when they want coworkers to get to know each other? They play games or do contests or make the coworkers solve puzzles together. How do we start small groups? With icebreakers — safe questions designed to get people talking to one another.
Suzanne says, “Play is the work of kids.” Put a couple of kids together or a group — without electronic devices — and what do they do? They play. They make up a game or a pretend world of some sort.
What can you do today to play with your kids? Here are some ways to try:
1. Watch them play — Watch what they are doing and ask if you can join in. Don’t tell them how to play. Just go with their flow.
2. Ask them to play with you — We honor our children by entering their world. Ask them what game or activity they want to play.
Do your best to not dictate how play happens. We don’t get to know our kids when we make play in our image. We truly get to know our kids when we see them in environments where they feel safe to be themselves.
