Adults need recess time too!

As a kid I loved to make things and play. I spent hours making house, building towns, making food, towns, and fun. Just the idea of “play” makes me smile.

What does play do? It activates the limbic system which regulates our emotional systems. It’s the area of the brain that creates emotional memories, manages motivation, appetite and sleep cycles. It’s also the area that promotes bonding and processes our experiences.  From our early years we learn and heal through play. It’s a way that we are seen, supported, and encouraged to grow.

Growing up as a stutterer was lonely and isolating. I didn’t have many friends to play games with, however I did play games with my Speech Language Therapist, Mrs. Berman. I loved it and our time together. People ask me “what did you do in Speech Therapy as a kid. I tell them “I do not remember what type of therapy we did. We played games. I don’t remember what games we played, but I remember the feeling I felt, and it was all good.”

Today, as an adult I play in my own way. I’m not the competitive “let’s win all type of player.” That’s not my style. It closes me down. I get tense, withdrawn, and grumpy. I feel like I am going to lose and it’s not a good place to be in.

What’s good play for me: Go Fish (card game), Peek-a-boo (always makes me laugh), Monopoly with kids under 7 (I love their sense of ownership and money), kayaking or water tubing with others, and anything arts & crafts.

What’s not good play for me: Anything Competitive and Dungeons & Dragons

What’s your style of play?

Check out:

“Play Doesn’t End With Childhood,” NPR: www.npr.org/sections/ed/2014/08/06/336360521/play-doesnt-end-with-childhood-why-adults-need-recess-too

Adult playground: www.nytimes.com/2012/07/01/nyregion/new-york-introduces-its-first-adult-playground.html?_r=0

Elizabeth Kapstein

Tuesday, October 20, 2015