Be a Kid Again! 

Get up late

Eat a bag of Halloween candy

Collect acorns

Send a Slinky down the stairs

Play jacks

Jump rope

Eat a sloppy drippy ice-cream cone

Play hopscotch

Nag your kids. Tell them you’re bored, there’s nothing good to eat, and no one to play with

Skip the make-up and the curling iron

Try to solve a Rubik’s Cube

Eat something really junky. I’ve been eyeing that new pizza surrounded by mini hotdogs.

Draw a chalk mural on the sidewalk

Build with Legos

Forget the shave and leave the stubble

Get a pad of art paper, some crayons, markers and color. Don’t worry about how it looks, just enjoy

Make a birdhouse out of Popsicle sticks

Put yourself first - not someone else

Play with Play Doh

Buy some comic books, a Mad magazine, or a trashy novel

Whine to your friends about how your kids don’t understand you. Hey, you’re even old enough to add a glass of wine to your whining session.

 And don’t think you’ll be wasting your valuable time.  Play is serious business.

Since about 1955, the amount of time children have for free play has been steadily declining.  During that same time, the incidence of adolescent depression, anxiety, and suicide has increased dramatically, according researcher Dr. Peter Gray a professor of psychology at Boston College.

And the same is true for their parents. Just turn on the T.V. and see all the commercials for drugs that promise to make us happy.

If parents don’t know how to play, how can they teach their children?

It’s time we learned.

More and more research suggests that healthy playtime leads to healthy adulthood, and the need for playtime doesn’t end when we grow up.

Adults need “recess” too, according to Dr. Stuart Brown, the Director of the National Institute for Play.  “Play is something done for its own sake. It’s voluntary, it’s pleasurable, it offers a sense of engagement, and it takes you out of time.

The act of play is more important the end result. So don’t worry if your drawing isn’t a masterpiece or your Play Doh bear looks more like a lopsided snowman. Just get lost in the experience. But please don’t eat the Play Doh.

Whatever you choose, don’t feel guilty. Remember, you’re doing important work! Happy, healthy happy parents mean happy healthy kids.

So go out and play.