Written by Melanie Naguib
The Wonder of Playful Parenting
Have you ever wondered to yourself “what do I do about my child’s rumbunctious behaviour?” Or how about “why is she so withdrawn and unwilling to talk?” Well, many parents have shared similar thoughts. Playful Parenting by Dr. Lawrence J. Cohen answers these questions, and what you can do about it!
What is Playful Parenting?
It is an approach where fun is used to parent your children. Children use play to communicate, and they indeed say a lot! Playful parenting joins children at their level and nurtures close connections between child(ren) and parent(s). Playful parenting joins children in their world through play as they navigate life through discovering new accomplishments, recovering from being hurt, or are simply bursting with youthful energy!
How Can it be Used at Home?
Playful parenting can be implemented during any time of the day, and particularly when the child needs a reconnection. If a child is not listening to you asking him to share a toy with a sibling who also wants a turn, we can easily get frustrated and our instinct is to yell, scold, and get angry. Instead, try playing with your child! Take the toy and exaggerate how much you want to play with it! Run out of the room and have them chase you! Keep it fun without making the child feel bad and get down on their level! Chances are high that the child will laugh and share their toy with you and their sibling. But there is also a deeper purpose to this method of changing the behaviour; you have reestablished a connection with them, and with each other, in a way that the child can understand.
Parental Stress
Raise your hand if you have ever thought “parenting is hard!” You are also not alone. Parenting is challenging, but also rewarding. We feel stressed when our kids aren’t listening. Or is it that we are not listening to them? Taking the time to play and communicate with them lessens this stress. Now I know what you’re thinking: “I don’t have time for that!!” But think about it, do we not already use up much of our time lecturing or scolding our children? What if we used that time to play instead?
Stress also comes upon us when we don’t give ourselves a chance to unwind and recharge our own batteries. Talking with a friend for five minutes or doing a short self-care activity for yourself can be highly beneficial. Even if we think we don’t have time for that, doing so will save yourself a lot more time in the future! Don’t neglect your own feelings.
Using Play Therapy to Process Medical Trauma
Many children do not yet understand what “surgery” or other medical terminology is, and this can be frightening. Children communicate this theme of fear through play. Play therapy helps children process the fear by meeting their needs, letting the theme be present in a safe space, and reassuring that things will be okay! There are explicit ways this trauma can be met such as having a mock surgery performed in therapy, or implicit, where the theme is played our through characters.