Natural playtime

Have you ever watched a child play? I'm NOT talking about the kiddie corral-germ factory that you see at the mall.  I mean watch them PLAY. Leave them to their own divices and watch their imagination go nutso.  No? Not surprised. 

With the exception of my crunchy momma friends and a couple of blogs like I'm Not Hannah, pretty much all "play" that I see kids doing is the übber regulated 'play date' BS designed to keep kids safe and mommy's feel accomplished. Possibly with a láte. Or scones. Anywho.  That's not play. 

Do you remember real play? Stealing pillow cases and blankies from your moms linen closet to be morphed into super hero capes. Used paper towel tube were pirate spyglasses. Under every bed was a fort.  We were warriors. We were princesses. We were mad scientists.  We didnt have play dates, we PLAYED.

Where did that imagination go? Where is that sense of wonder? The exploration? Scheduling every activity and experience for a child isnlt preparing him for the future, its robbing him of his childhood. And I just can't do that to Bubby. I would rather him have an adventure in the world than a timetable.  Because for every adventure, there is a lesson to be learned. To be a pirate in the back yard is to find the rabbit dens and birds nests.  To be a growling lion teaches that the floor is hard and mommy kisses all boo boos.  And that's an important lesson.  Yes, my heart is in my throat all the damn time (especially now that were in the climbinb phase). But that's a good lesson for me, to let him explore, but always be there to kiss the boo boos.

But can you imagine what the world would be like if we raised an entire generation of adventurous thinkers? A world where imagunations were encouraged to run wild? A lot less regulation ans a lot more..... childishness?  Sounds like a pretty cool world to me.