Free play for kids
I got a note from a guy today asking me about some statistics on child abductions. (The vast majority are committed by family members; stranger abductions are rare.) He brought up the idea of unstructured play for kids, and that got me going.
I am a huge, huge fan on unstructured play — free play. Screw weekly soccer or fencing or gymnastics or whatever’s the rage these days. Let kids be kids. But parents can’t, of course. For some reason they’ve got it into their heads that only organized sports and activities are good, which is why so many suburban streets are empty in the afternoons and evenings when they should be filled with kids making up their own fun and games (at least until the streetlights come on — then it’s time to come in. :)
I am by far not the first person to bring this up. The rise of structured play in favor of just letting kids be kids is a horrible thing that many people have lamented.
In my reply to the note, I brought up an idea I have had for a long time: Local Freeplay groups. Just like there might be a local Mom’s Club or Freecycle group, I’d love to see a movement where people formed local Freeplay groups.
It might work like this:
Each time the group met (weekly, every Tuesday and Thursday, whatever), one or two parents would be responsible for bringing the Box of Stuff, while other parents would be the Grown Up in Charge.
The Box of Stuff would contain an ever-growing pile of things for kids to play with. Depending on the ages, it might contain balls and bats, walkie-talkies, digging equipment, maps and compasses, a volleyball net… you get the idea. Stuff. The kids could choose to use it or not.
The Grown Ups in Charge would be the ones who would hang out at a certain spot near wherever the kids were playing. They’d talk, read, and be available for any emergencies. But the rule would be “fix it, solve it, figure it out yourselves.”
The imaginary conversation I, er, imagined went something like this:
“What are you doing today, Mike?”
“I’m taking Junior to Smith Park for Freeplay.”
“What’s he gonna do?”
“I don’t know. But it’s Sue Jones’s turn to bring the equipment, and she always has interesting stuff.”
Obviously this is only a germ of an idea. Still, the thought of kids being allowed to be kids — to figure things out themselves, to expand (heck, to use) their imaginations, to solve their own disagreements — really makes me want to see this happen. Wide-open playdates. No rules. Imagine that.
gnomic says:
I think its a great idea - EXCEPT I wouldn’t leave it open to just anyone. Use referals, have a independant criminal check, something… And you’ll want indemnity insurance. But I agree. I simply can’t understand the life my neighbors lead running thier kids around. The only “structured” activity I had was boy scouts and I was responsible to get myself there. MY neighbors have thiers kids in 4 or 5 different activities and hardly ever eat together - except in the car on the way to an event.