The Playground Is Important

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While chapter 12 said a lot, my attention was quickly drawn to what Mary had to say in her opening
paragraph. I have always been an advocate of allowing kids to be kids. There is so much value in the
psychosocial and cognitive changes that occur as children spend time around other children, doing
children things. I personally am an advocate for this due to the fact that I feel like I had to “grow up”
more quickly than those around me in my classes in my earlier days of schooling. I feel as though I
missed out a lot on creating memories that would’ve stuck with me and influenced me to this day.
This is not to say I regret my decisions or where I am in life, but to say that a child often forms
presuppositions and ways of acting and understanding that stick with the child throughout the
rest of life. 

I also very much enjoyed, in at least how I interpreted her words, how Mary valued kids need to find
part of their identity in the midst of their peers, rather than having one impressed upon them by a
parental figure or authority. I most believe that personal growth can be found in many different places
and relationships and that while there are times to put more focus on the words or acts of a specific
person, it is important to be openminded and empathetic to the world and the people in it.

 I commented on Zane and Addison's posts. :)

Comments

Zane Duke said…
Some very nice and well-thought-out thoughts. I am a firm believer in the idea that we are to always be as young as we can be at heart, because when you grow up on the inside and the outside, then things tend to be depressing. There is so much fun that cannot be forced upon a child, so much to do that cannot be done unless the child is allowed to explore and do it on his or her own. I for one prefer to be a young man on the outside, but a little boy on the inside (when I can be) and will continue to remind myself of playfulness, wonder, and adventurousness.
October 28, 2019 at 8:07 PM
Jamie Peters said…
Growing up, I lived in a sheltered home as far as popular culture goes. However, that kind of regulation and separation from parents is important to maintaining childhood innocence. So many people that I have had the pleasure of getting to know have gone through very similar situations, where they were thrust from the safety of home like a baby bird from the nest. Too much exposure can damage a person for life, but there is so much more lost when you are isolated from everything, as most children were in this time period.
October 28, 2019 at 9:09 PM
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