Kids need to play!

Research continues to show the need for play in the development of healthy children!

There is an endless stream of research on the topic. The latest book I learned of is “The Power of Fun: How to Feel Alive Again” by Catherine Price. In an interview I heard with her on Public Radio, she suggested that the most important aspects of having fun are to make it flow, make it connected, and make it real! You can’t fake play! Well, maybe you can fake it till you make it… as we are so disconnected from knowing how to play that this could be a way to start.

I like her approach and feel that the programs I have developed for the CIFA help to promote the creative flow that will help children become more at ease with themselves and others.

I imagine many of you don’t see sewing as the way to play, but I have developed a method for showing children the basic simple process of stitching and through these simple gestures, one can gain a lifetime of creative expression.

Yes, sometimes it is great to have a project and follow the steps in order to produce a nice item. Some kids need this and will then leave it alone after they have done one thing. But other children need freedom to experiment, test things, invent things, create something no one has ever seen before and doesn’t conform to any preconceived notion of what is good or appropriate. It is these children who need to be encouraged and fostered. These are the ones who won’t fit inside the box and should be encouraged in all their creative freedom and mess and imperfection to keep going, keep exploring, keep tinkering. These are the children who will invent what has not been seen before and become leaders in fields that are now only on the horizon.