Kids prefer playing with parents over watching TV

Our kids want to play with us rather than watch TV!
Isn’t that awesome!

Actually, if you’re a parent, you probably already know that kids want to play with you a lot. The problem that seems to occur though is that we as parents get in the habit of putting them off; “Not right now.” “In a minute.” “I’m busy.” “Let me just finish this project.” So they turn away and find a screen to sit in front of. So we get to enjoy uninterrupted time to ourselves while our kids learn how to treat each other by watching their role model – Spongebob.

And then we wonder why our children spend so much time in front of a screen or don’t know how to interact kindly with one another. Or by the time they’re teenagers we wonder why they stay in their room or keep to themselves all the time.

Well, guess what – there’s an App for that.
Actually, it’s not an App in the iPod/iPhone sense of the word, but rather it’s an App (application) of what we’ve known all along – our kids want to spend time with us. They want to play with us.

Don’t believe us? Check it out.
A global research study was recently published called the PlayReport that shows that kids want to play with their parents over watching TV

This project was initiated by IKEA and is said to be the largest global survey ever conducted on the topic of children’s development and play. Over 10,000 interviews with parents and children across 25 countries were conducted during a 2 month period. Their aim: to increase awareness and start meaningful discussions about the value of play.

We say “ Awesome!”

Check out some of the findings in the PlayReport.

• When asked to choose between watching TV or playing with friends or parents, children choose to play with friends (89%) and parents (73%) with TV a very poor substitute for social interaction at only 11%.
• 45% of parents feel they don’t have enough time to play with their children.
• 26% agree that they’re too stressed to play with their kids.
• 46% of parents admit to feeling guilty about not spending enough time with their kids.
• 75% of parents wanted more time to just chill out with their children.

I love these quotes from the report:

• “Play is one of the most powerful learning engines for children – play and learning aren’t opposing forces.”
• “Many parents feel they have lost the ability to play.”

Well, we’d like to see that change. We love playing games with our children and know that it takes time to do so. But we firmly believe that making the time to spend with our children is one of the best investments we can make. And it’s not only an investment in them and their future, but for us as parents as well. Our lives are richer because of the time we spend with our children.

So as parents, let’s work to keep the desire that our children have to play with us alive rather than turning it off. We need to be fun to be around and we need to spend time playing with them.

So get out and play!