“Play engages all our senses and gives us courage to be human again.” –Joan Almon, founding director, Alliance for Childhood

Take those lists you made in part 1 and go play! Play with your children; play with other adults. Choose your favorite activities from childhood and introduce them to your kids.

Consider this: play is important at all stages of life. Feeling the urge to dive back into some forgotten passions of your own? Now’s the time! Or ask yourself: what’s a new way that you, as an adult, can play?

“It sometimes takes a good 45 minutes before children get into ‘deep play,’ This is the sort of play where children start creating their own games and their own rules.” –Angela Hanscom, pediatric occupational therapist, founder of TimberNook

Soccer practice, art class, playdate outings – the lives of children today (especially school-age children) can quickly fill up with structured activities organized by adults, leaving no time for deep play. We get it, life is busy! So go ahead and schedule that playdate, but once your children are together with their friends, step back and give them lots of time and space to play. Don’t plan activities. Don’t try to entertain them. Whatever you do, don’t step in to “save” them from boredom.

If you have younger children who require supervision, simply observe your children as they play. Don’t interfere (unless you need to for safety reasons). You might be amazed by what happens.  

Remember your favorite play activities from step 1? We bet there weren’t any adults around when you were doing your favorite thing! Think about this and, in age-appropriate ways, give children their freedom.

“Always Be LOOKING (notice the ground beneath your feet.) …Creativity arises from our ability to see things from many different angles.” ―Keri Smith, author of “How to Be an Explorer of the World”

Get outside today! Explore with your children – in your neighborhood, your backyard, a park, a natural area or a city block. Don’t set an agenda. Observe your children and see what they discover and how they engage and play with the world.

It may take twice as long to get to your destination. In fact, you may never actually arrive at your destination. That’s okay. For today, enjoy the journey.

Off the beaten path: Parks and natural areas are wonderful places for adventure. Parks often have paths, and our tendency may be to follow them, but don’t forget to explore the “rough edges” too – the little pockets of nature that exist alongside the human built landscape – that’s where real treasures lie.

“The greatest gift we can give to [children] and their families is to create… spaces… that provide alternatives to commercial culture – places where creativity is nurtured rather than stifled, where we provide children opportunities to explore themselves and the world, and give them a chance to learn to value their own creations above the things that corporations sell.” –Susan Linn, co-founder and director, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood

This probably comes as no surprise: your children have too many toys. Your challenge today is to go through and take stock of all your child’s toys. With your child’s help, select at least five toys to donate to a local charity. Let your child choose so that the giving comes directly from them. Expect them to make some last-minute changes and not be able to give up a beloved toy or two after all.

Buying better toys: Children are more creative, and less distracted, when they have less toys to play with(*). The best toys are “90% child and only 10% toy” (*). (And they typically do not have screens or marketing tie-ins.) Choose open-ended toys and materials, and toys that require imagination to make them work. Art/creative and building supplies are always good choices.

“The single social factor that I believe, if changed, will lead to more children’s free play is the attractiveness of their neighborhood.” –Mike Lanza, author of “Playborhood”

In order to create a culture of play, play MUST be done out in the open. For this challenge, no more hiding! Move your play to the front yard or a central space in your neighborhood. Offer invitations that neighbors can join in, like sidewalk chalk, bubbles or “loose parts” (cardboard boxes, sand, water, objects from nature like shells/rocks/bark and art materials like paint/play dough all fit the bill). 

BONUS: Is nobody out playing? Knock on neighbors’ doors and ask them to play. Some neighborhoods have even gotten together and closed off a street for a day of play. Think about this: How can you work together with your neighbors to make your neighborhood a more play-friendly place?

“Getting back in touch with that spark of imagination that is only ours gives energy, spurs our own unique creativity, empowers each of us – and who knows what wonders might occur once all that renewed imagination is unleashed.” –Susan Caruso, founder/director, Sunflower Creative Arts

When we all raise our voices together, great things can happen. One simple way to be a play advocate is to support organizations that support play. Volunteering and donations to Sunflower help us empower children to be confident, creative and compassionate through Play, Nature and the Arts – and we are proud to be one of many voices in the play movement. It will take many, many voices to make a lasting change. 

Join us! And check out these other organizations that support and advocate for play (over the years, they’ve been some of our most trusted resources): Alliance for Childhood, Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Children & Nature Network, KaBOOM!, Pop-Up Adventure Play, and the US Play Coalition.