Play energizes us and enlivens us.
It eases our burdens.
It renews our natural sense of optimism
and opens us up to new possibilities.
Dr. Stuart Brown, MD
Dr. Stuart Brown is a psychiatrist who studies play. Yes, you read that right. He studies play at the National Institute for Play. I find his work interesting but was really surprised to learn that the lack of play can have serious impacts on a child’s development. Play teaches curiosity, exploration, social interaction and solo imagination.
Not only does he study it. He helped create a course, From Play To Innovation, that’s taught at Stanford. It’s part of the Spring 2018 course offerings. So if you didn’t think that play was important for an adult before, maybe you’ll take a psychiatrist seriously?
Check out his TED Talk below. Why You Should Take The Time To Play.
You can search for creativity, imagination or even play on my blog and find a lot of posts on this subject. Or you can start with this one: Use Your Imagination.
This is so timely! I’m writing a post about play at the moment so thank you for this!
I’m glad it was timely for you! Play is so important to creativity that I tend to write about it a lot.
I’ve had a lesson in play this week with the care of my daughters kitten while she is on holiday. To watch this curious little darling and interacting with her in play and delight has been a breath of fresh air. It lightens the mood and opens up my sense of adventure. Play is a good thing. 🙂
I love seeing kittens play…and, playing with them!