Faith | All you need to know you learned while playing as a kid
Most of us have played on a playground.
We played on swings, teeter-totter, slides, and merry-go-round among other toys and games. With few cares or concerns except for who pushed and who went first and who fell off—we played and played until mealtime or someone called us home.
In the spirit of Robert Fulgum’s wildly popular book about life-lessons learned back in kindergarten, I think the same can apply to values learned on the playground.
The merry-go-round has a curious name that implies it is fun to just go in circles.
Faster or slower, stand or sit or lie down, turn this way or that—you remember all the possibilities! The circular repetition seemed to allow the cares of life to just spin off like eddies in the wake of a canoe paddle.
The slides are remarkable because early on many of us are afraid of the ladder’s heights. Then quickly we can’t get enough, and race around the playground to climb the highest one. Slow climb up, fast slide down, slow climb up, fast slide down.
What is it that makes the quick ride worth the hard work or hot metal?
The teeter-totter is different because it requires cooperation.
The lighter kid must sit a little farther from the middle to even things out. If not, the heavier kid must push harder to leave the ground, and the lighter one usually spends more time in the air. But, whenever we approach balance, we bob up and down with ease.
And then there are the swings. Like the merry-go-round, swings can make some kids sick.
The swings have two levels of participation: those who are pushed by someone and those who “pump” their swing. Learning how to pump means freedom from having someone push; it means independence. In addition, swinging allows competition in going as high as possible.
One interesting thing about such toys and experiences is that they go nowhere except round and round, back and forth, up and down.
At first glance, such play may seem pointless.
Yet, perhaps, it is the rhythm created by swings and merry-go-rounds that brings a sense of comfort and routine to the disorders of life. Back and forth, up and down, round and round—the sheer monotony of it allows minds to relax and reflect.
Call me goofy, but I remember bobbing up and down in the city pool for many minutes at a stretch. It gave me space and peace to think about things or about nothing at all. Big people may call this meditation or mindfulness.
Playing is not just plain old fun, it is a great way to learn essential values and concepts. Cooperation, patience, independence, and competition—these principles can be learned on the playground.
They are values that all too often are shaken off like the ever-present dust after we are done for the day. Or these values can be taken home with our jackets and bikes to practice further in our homes, neighborhoods, and communities.
Timothy J. Ledbetter, DMin, BCC is a retired American Baptist-endorsed professional chaplain and member of Shalom United Church of Christ in Richland. Questions and comments should be directed to editor Lucy Luginbill in care of the Tri-City Herald newsroom, 4253 W. 24th Avenue, Kennewick, WA 99338. Or email lluginbill@tricityherald.com.
