The Invisibility Cloak Of Play

Dr. Gordon Neufeld’s words during the very first interview of the online Raised Good Summit are still bouncing around in my head. This was one of the quotes that stopped me in my tracks.

Being human is impossibly complex. If we had to teach the skills necessary to survive and thrive, surely our species wouldn’t have made it. Luckily, our drive to play is embedded in our nature. And play is enough.

Our job as parents and caregivers then becomes protecting space to play. We need to protect both the physical space (a safe, engaging, and challenging environment), as well as the emotional space (meeting our children’s attachment needs, providing safety for them to feel all emotions, and the capacity for rest). When we meet these needs, nature can then do “its work in the invisible cloak of play.”