Nana Kvaratskhelia
ECE 211
Professor Reich-Shapiro
November 7th,2021
The importance of play
When I was a child, my parents befriended a married couple who were our neighbours. The couple had 3 children. One of the children was close in age to me ( 2 and a half years older), her name was Mariam. Mariam became my cousin, and by default, her older sister and brother became our babysitters.
Every Saturday into Sunday, I would sleep over at Mariam’ s house. We both had a love for Barbie dolls; and all the accessories that came with it. After breakfast, and a quick shower; we would throw our dolls and scatter all the things all over the living room floor. This was done in front of the t.v. that was playing any variety of cartoons and other t.v. shows. There would be different outfits, shoes, hair combs all over the carpet floor. In retrospect, two things stood out during our play: We would re-enact soap – opera scenarios and usually end up in an argument after! Why? Well, for one, Mariam’ s mother was addicted to the plots and twists of these day time shows. When she was home, that’s what was on the t.v. So when we were under her supervision, I guess we became influenced by it.
One day my Barbie was marrying Georgi, and the following day or weekend Georgi no longer loved my doll. Mariam’ s Barbie had a new haircut, complimented Mariam’ s scissors, and was therefore “Prettier”. Not to be outshined, my Barbie would show up with a purple or pink hairdo. I accomplished these colors by coloring on paper with a marker, then running water down the paper and onto the doll’s head.
That’s where the competitions began, but never where it ended! Mariam and I would have full-blown arguments about whose Barbie was better, and then those arguments turned into arguing about whose toys belonged to whom. We each became specific about who owned what, and selfish in our childish ways. This, ofcourse, was to be expected because we were young and learning how to share. Whether we were being babysat by her older siblings or mom, that was usually the point of intervention as well as explanation. We were learning boundaries in play time for the next time. The actual play was so much fun, as we used our imagination and creativity to invent storylines. The fighting never lasted very long, and all was forgiven and forgotten by the next play date.
Many years have passed since, but the memories are impactful and last a lifetime. I believe that all children should be encouraged to play; playtime is healthy and a necessary part of growth. Children need time and space to be children. Adults who understand the importance of play place value in children and their ability to flourish through imagination and creativity.
