For the healthy development of our kiddos, play is everything and then a bit more. It will grow our young loves physically, emotionally, socially and neurally.

What sort of ‘play’ counts as ‘brave building play’?
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We’re talking about free play here – the type that is free from instructions, planning, or directions from grown-ups. There’s no ‘grown-up’ agenda. Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the type of play that has a few instructions and and ideas from grown-ups, but the rich, growthful play is the type where kids are in charge. Even if adults are close by, making sure everyone is safe, this is done at enough of a distance for kids to feel the freedom of choosing, directing, planning, exploring.

How does child-directed free play build brave?

When children play, they practice staying safe. They try out things from the ‘big world’, with the safety of knowing that whenever they want to, they can stop. They can stop the chase, jump out of the sandpit, take off the magic cape, walk out of their pretend world, and they are safe and back to what they know. It’s how they learn they have it in them to solve problems, to be creative, and to be okay (eventually) when things don’t go to plan.
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Play lets them move right up to the edges of their limits. Because they have the control, they can push those limits a little further – they can be a little braver, a little bigger, a little tougher, funnier, bossier, kinder, softer, sillier – and then, whenever they want to, they can stop. This invites them into a wonderful, growthful freedom – to experiment and experience the world and themselves in ways that can expand them like nothing else can. It opens them up to the world and the world up to them.

Play is important for your big loves too, and you.

Play is not just vital for our little loves. Our big loves need to play and so do we. Love, food, sleep, play – it’s that important.