Don’t Act Your Age...Play!

Page: 3 4 5 6 (of 6)	Previous | Next

how to play

If you’d like to experience the relaxing release of play but have forgotten how to do it, don’t feel bad. As we age, we naturally lose the childhood proclivity for play. But you can get it back.

Here are some suggestions:

• Set aside time each day. Take 15 minutes, an hour, two hours to do something you enjoy purely for fun. The amount of time you spend is not important. It may be as simple as coloring in a coloring book, reading comics, building a model, playing a board game, or planting a flower. It could be a physically demanding game or a more mentally challenging artistic or creative endeavor. Give it your full attention and don’t worry about what it looks like or how it turns out. Lose yourself in the activity.
• Sleep. Kids play hard. To recharge their batteries, they sleep hard. You do the same. Go to bed early, get up early, and take a nap in the afternoon, if possible. At night, take a nice warm bath before you put on your pajamas. Heck, pour in some bubble bath and take toys into the tub with you.
• Think back. Try to remember what you liked to do as a child. To spark memories, take a trip to your childhood home, school, or neighborhood. Revisit the park or playground you roamed as a kid. Call or visit your parents or siblings and talk about the fun things you did when you were little.
• Move like a child.  As you walk, sneak in an occasional hop, skip, or jump. Travel along the sidewalk without stepping on the cracks. Take a break from jogging or power-walking and just dawdle along, keeping your eyes open for things kids notice—the sun, clouds, trees, grass, birds, bugs, voices, street sounds, stray objects. On a wet day, find a puddle and splash through it.
• Go where kids are. Ride a bike to the park or playground, and swing on the swings and slide on the slides. Visit a toy store. Go out for an ice cream cone. Have your next birthday party at one of those pizza/arcade places. Have a fun cake with candles and give all the guests funny hats to wear. Drop by your favorite fast-food restaurant and get a kid’s meal, for yourself.
• Spend time with a kid. Playfulness rubs off. If you don’t have a kid around, why not volunteer to share your time with some? Offer to babysit for friends, neighbors, and relatives who are sure to oblige, or become a Big Brother or Big Sister. Then let the children lead. You can learn a lot from the masters.