In Episode 005 of Playfully Faith Parenting, I share some definitions of play and take a look at what it means Biblically.
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Show Notes
Episode Summary:
Let’s talk about what play really is. We will look at it both from a scholarly and a Biblical POV.
United Nation’s Committee on the Rights of the Child’s definition:
“‘Play’: Children’s play is any behaviour, activity or process initiated, controlled and structured by children themselves; it takes place whenever and wherever opportunities arise. Caregivers may contribute to the creation of environments in which play takes place, but play itself is non-compulsory, driven by intrinsic motivation and undertaken for its own sake, rather than as a means to an end. Play involves the exercise of autonomy, physical, mental or emotional activity, and has the potential to take infinite forms, either in groups or alone. These forms will change and be adapted throughout the course of childhood. The key characteristics of play are fun, uncertainty, challenge, flexibility and non-productivity. Together, these factors contribute to the enjoyment it produces and the consequent incentive to continue to play. While play is often considered non-essential, the Committee reaffirms that it is a fundamental and vital dimension of the pleasure of childhood, as well as an essential component of physical, social, cognitive, emotional and spiritual development.”
(As defined in UN’s General Comment #17 on article 31)
Biblically play is seen in times of peace, restoration, and celebration. It is also deeply connected to Sabbath which demonstrates trusting God to remain in control as you take time to glorify him through enjoying the life he has given you.
Verses from the episode:
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
2 Samuel 6:14
Isaiah 11
Zechariah 8:5
Links from the episode:
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Transcript
Here is a rough transcript of Playfully Faithful Parenting Episode 005: What is Play? A Theoretical and Biblical POV. This isn’t meant to be pretty and perfect but is here as a resource for those who want it.
Transcript
Hey Mammas, thank you for joining us again here at playfully faithful parenting.
I’m so excited to talk about play again.
Last week we talked about the benefits of play and there are just so many today I want to talk about.
But what is play like?
We know how to play a board game.
Or to play with doll.
But what really in its essence is play.
So that is what we’re going to explore today.
And I am kind of a nerd in that I love research.
So I like to take deep academic and theological research and translate it into practical tips for you.
So that’s what we’re going to do today.
We’re going to look at theory and theology of play and come up with some practical.
Tips for you to use it next week.
So today we’re doing the theory and theology.
Next week, we’re going to look at practical.
Tips and this is going to be the way that that we grow together in this podcast is theory and theology translated into practical tips because I think it’s important for you Mamas to know not only what to do, but why we do it, and that I think will help you with your motivation.
And it will also help you to be creative and take what you know and to apply it to your own individual families and your kids.
And because I cannot know all of your kids, I can’t know what’s going to speak best.
To your family and to your your culture inside your home.
And so I want to teach you why we do things and then you can figure out the the how specifics.
So here we go.
One of my favorite play advocates and researchers.
He’s a doctor is Stuart Brown, doctor Stuart Brown.
And so you will probably hear me.
We refer to him throughout the course of this podcast.
He does not like to define play because play is kind of so broad and it’s so big that it really is hard to define.
But there are some characteristics that all true play has, so they are purposelessness.
Meaning we just do it for fun volunt.
Harry, you can’t force someone to enjoy play.
It’s just has to be something that comes from them.
Inherent attraction, so it’s not a burden to do this play is just fun and it’s a cure to boredom.
And it’s just something you’re drawn to.
Freedom from time when you are really into your play.
You just kind of lose track of time.
His next characteristic is diminished consciousness of.
Self meaning we are not consumed with what we look like or how silly we might be looking at the moment.
We’re just.
In it, and we’re just enjoying.
At the moment, characteristic #6 is improvisational potential, so it by playing, even if it’s something totally different than some problem we’ve been thinking about, play opens up a creativity and ways for us to think that we might.
Right have problem solving skills.
Open up and connections made for outside problems and and things going on that are not related to the play but the play has activated our brain in such a way that our creativity.
And problem solving skills are heightened in that moment and the last characteristic of true play is continuation desire.
So when you are really playing or when your kids are really.
Plain, you don’t want to stop, so sometimes that might look like when you’re playing a board game with your kids.
If you are really having fun, you might kind of not necessarily cheat, but let your kids win for the opportunity to continue to play.
Or if you’re almost at the end of a game, you might purposefully mess up.
Or if you’re playing horse or basketball with your kids, you might purposely miss a basket in order to continue the play because you’re having so much fun and you’re building.
These skills and this bond with your kid, and so you just want the game and the play to continue and so you will do little things, sometimes, consciously, sometimes subconsciously, that allow the play to continue.
So that’s.
From Doctor Stuart Brown, who really is one of the researchers in play that got me so on fire and so passionate about play and its potential.
Also the United Nations has discovered or believes in this power of.
Play and they actually have a committee on the rights of the child and they have a whole article Article 31 in their United Nations.
So for the rights of the child, Article 31 is all about a child’s right to play universally all over the world, no matter their culture.
Their age, the United Nations believes that every child has a right to age appropriate play and all opportunities should be made for kids.
To do this so their definition of play is this children play is any behavior, activity or process initiated, controlled and structured by children themselves.
It takes place whenever and wherever opportunities arise.
Caregivers may contribute to the creation.
Of environments in which play takes place.
But play itself is non compulsory driven by intrinsic motivation and undertaken for its own sake rather than as a means to an end play involves the exercise of autonomy, physical, mental or emotional activity and has the potential to make.
Infinite form.
Either in groups or alone, these forms will change and be adapted throughout the course of childhood.
The key characteristics of play are fun, uncertainty, challenge, flexibility and non productivity.
Together these factors contribute to the enjoyment it produces and the consequent.
Incentive to continue to play while play is often considered nonessential.
The Committee reaffirms that it is a fundamental and vital dimension of the pleasure of childhood as well as.
Is an essential component of physical, social, cognitive, emotional and spiritual development. That’s a big definition, I know, but it is so good. I love how it involves so many of Doctor Brown’s characteristics.
Fun, intrinsically motivated and also it includes they recognize the power of it for spiritual development and calls it an essential component of spiritual development that is so amazing that I agree.
Group of adults from all around the world can come together and approve of of this activity as vital and and fun to fundamental.
And I just think that’s really beautiful and super encouraging.
And so I think that.
Hopefully that helps.
Spark you to understand the value of play.
If if this group, the United Nations can come together and support it in such a way, so that is just that’s kind of defining what play is biblically play is all over little spots in the Bible as a very.
Natural thing to do. One of my favorite places that play is in the Bible is not even with kids. In second Samuel 614, David is bringing the Ark.
Of the Lord back and it says that.
David danced before the Lord with all his might but one one other way to translate that verb of dance is played, and it was, uhm, and the word in that in that context, kind of shows describes Daniel’s spinning around.
The way young kids spin around just kind of when they just spin and spin and spin until they get.
Dizzy and in the Hebrew culture at that time that was considered an act of worship for kids to spin and enjoy life and their bodies in that way and to play in that way and at least from what I’ve read.
That this is that’s one translation.
Of that word, dance is to play and to play in that spinning type motion and to me that’s just.
So cool that David, who God calls a man after his own heart would play in front of God in such a childlike way.
Such a childlike act of worship, and then you know his his wife, looked down on her and she was just kind of like.
And she was filled with contempt for him, it says, but David didn’t care he.
We just wanted to worship and celebrate God and just play before the Lord.
And so I just love that.
Also we see in Isaiah 11 and Zachariah 85 that when God is describing this new Jerusalem, it talks about.
Kids claim in the streets.
One of the ways that we will recognize peace filled Ultimate Kingdom of God will be chill.
Children playing in the streets.
To me that’s just beautiful.
So one of my definitions of play is a representation of enjoying the life God has given to us and celebrating who he is would I think.
About Sabbath, I think about rest and play.
And just it’s a break from work.
It is an opportunity for us to enjoy the world God has created and that is what play is.
Is enjoying life, enjoying the things that you have in a in a way that glorifies God and so.
To me, Sabbath and play are almost like undividable like you can’t take them.
You can’t separate them.
Everybody play may look different.
Playing may look like reading a book quietly.
And that’s an excellent Sabbath activity.
Play could also be going skiing or fishing or sitting down and drinking a cup of tea or coffee.
All of these things can be play.
Play doesn’t have to be building blocks and coloring those are.
Those are play.
Hey as well but play can look as different as each of us because God created us each individually and to have.
Of different ways that we glorify him through enjoying the world that he has given us so biblically to me.
Play is also just tightly linked with Sabbath, and it is a way to model trust in God that we know he has it.
And so when we can let go.
And play and just enjoy our family ourselves, our world.
We are glorifying God by saying God, I know you’ve got this, you can take care.
Of everything going on while I spend an hour playing or while I spend 5 minutes coloring with my kid, God has got it and so play is an opportunity for us to model and to live into our trust knowing that God has.
Got it, he’s going to.
Take care of the world, the world will go on while we take a few minutes to enjoy the life that he has given us.
Finally, I want to look at the academic world ideas of play and so, especially in early childhood education, play is a huge.
Huge topic just because of the power of it for kids to learn and so in the academic world there are two.
Types of healthy good play and that are both used for learning, so there’s free play which is.
Kids have total control.
Adults are not involved, except maybe, you know, watching observing, stepping in only an absolutely necessary.
Instances that’s free play.
There’s also guided play which guided play has so many benefits.
It’s and that is what I think is going to be a really healthy place for us to come alongside our kids and show them and teach them about Christ.
So guided play even has two different options.
There’s one where you just kind of set up an environment, so maybe you set.
Out a couple of Bibles.
And some toys that are purposefully design A Noah’s ark scene or animals and a boat.
And you have the Bible open to the Noah’s Ark story.
So you’ve set up an environment.
Maybe you even have a little dish of water and.
Like a sensory tab and you you just set it up, but then you allow your kids to just play how?
Ever they choose.
That is one form of guided play.
Another form of guided play would be you watching what your kids are already doing and coming alongside them and gently talking to them while they play and guiding their their play.
With with your conversation with your words, and so if they’re building a tower.
Coming in saying, Ah, I love your tower that looks like a very strong tower.
I would feel safe in that tower, but how would you feel in that tower?
You know God is sometimes called a strong tower in the Bible, so that that’s another type of guided play where we come alongside and we see what they’re already doing.
And we give them language to to help them learn and make connections between what they are interested in and what they are leading.
But we can help them learn something that we want them to learn in a way.
That is still intriguing to them, because we’ve come alongside what they’re interested in.
If at any point they seem like they want to stop and they’re done, or they don’t want to talk, and you continue to have that conversation, or to push them to keep playing longer than they want to it, it’s no longer play.
And they’re no longer getting those learning benefit.
Sets so it has to be something that they are interested in and they are playing voluntarily with and for for them to get the best benefits of play in that situation.
I think all of these types of play are really healthy and we can use.
All of them.
I like to say you can add faith to play or add play to faith so you can take what they’re already doing and come alongside them and add some faith conversation to it.
Or you can set up that faith activity in a way that is.
Playful so either one starting with either play as a foundation or faith as a foundation and adding the other one.
Both of them are types of guided play that I think can be really beneficial, so that is that’s it for today.
That’s what I want to talk to you about.
That’s a lot of different.
Definitions of play and looking at really what makes play play and how we how we ensure that we’re staying with that with what real play is.
In order for kids to be drawn to it and to make the connections and have all those developmental.
Benefits from play.
Next week, we’re going to talk about the tips, practical tips on taking what play is, and all those benefits from the week before that we know are capable through play.
What do we do?
How do we do that?
How do we?
Use all this.
Theory and theology that we’ve got in the last few weeks and make it make it real for our kids.
Make it happen.
How do we do that?
So that’s what we’re going to talk about next week.
I’m really excited.
Hope to see you back.
Moms, you can do this.
You are loved and God wants.
To come alongside you and partner with you as you raise your babies for him. So Mom’s on behalf of God. Thank you for raising his kids with love and play Mom’s. You can do this.
