September 23, 2016 - 10:29
I lived in the old part of Pasadena, Texas until I was eleven years old. By the time my parents were in middle school the area was already taking an economic plunge. Chain stores died and left, white flight was almost at its end, and ruins that were all too familiar to me growing up were setting in. With the decay of Pasadena came an increase in crime and instability in the neighborhoods. Therefore my mother never allowed my brother and me to explore the outside world very much. We were only allowed to ride bikes with our dad or an older cousin and only in certain places, I was only allowed to play in the yard for short periods of time and only if I stayed in front of the kitchen window or if my mom came out to watch me. So playing outside was never very appealing to me. Between the constrictions, a lack of playmates, and the almost unbearable Texan heat it was just uncomfortable and boring. This led to many afternoons of imaginative play with dolls and the occasional Lego set. I also would watch T.V. and play video games and computer games online. I had a balanced mixture of digital games and physical games. However I lacked in the adventurous play department and was always cautious of risks which makes me wonder if this negatively affects me now? In what ways does this type of play shape people and also how does the type of play I did engage in shape peopl
Reading Liquidecho’s post reminded me a lot of my own experiences but also tied in the idea of a balanced childhood. She played an equal amount outside and inside and also had the mixture of technology and traditional toys. Her childhood was “mixed with both vivid imagination and digital fantasy” (Liquidecho, September 19, 2016). In this way I can relate since I also grew up during a time of rapid technological growth of which my family divulged in somewhat. These dual play types “have allowed [her] to gain several kinds of outlooks on life” (Liquidecho, September 19, 2016). For me it allowed me to have more understanding with younger generations. In middle and high school I often babysat my younger cousins and they grew up with way more technology at their grasp than I did. I sometimes pitied their lack of what could be considered at this time traditional play but I understood that they found their own world when playing Minecraft on my phone and princess dress up apps on their tablets. I did the same thing with my dolls and I built similar worlds with Legos they just do it on a device. And I played similar games online when I was about their ages so I understand the appeal of the digital world. Although to teens and adults their imaginations seem limited I still remember how it felt as though I had so many different options in dress up and make believe games online than I did in real life since I only owned so many outfits for my dolls whereas online I could mix and match an infinite amount of outfits.
I can attest to their creativeness, although it might be bias. The middle child of the three has been creating stories and her own versions of nursery rhymes since she was four. The oldest loves making new and weird outfits from her limited wardrobe. The youngest has sat down with me and created movie length plots with her little dolls. Even without a conventional childhood these three little girls are still developing imaginations and cultivating creativity that my generation and generations before me deem to be the purpose of play. Liquidecho sees this type of play as counterproductive towards the development of young minds however I see it as purposeful and if used properly even more effective than traditional play.
Adventurous play is something I wanted to experience but as a child I was always too cautious. My mom warned my brother and me to not go to stranger’s houses and to never go anywhere that seemed unsafe. So I purposefully held myself back from activities that seemed like fun. The few times I did break my mom’s rules I felt so guilty afterwards I usually told on myself. In “Urban Wildscapes” the benefits of growing up in a dangerous and unstable play area are discussed in depth. These unorthodox play areas require “balance, agility and bravery” and cultivate “useful skills of recognizing and negotiating danger, and knowing one's bodily capabilities” (Edensor et al. pg. 70). My parents always commented on my clumbsiness growing up and even now my older cousin sees me as reckless with my body due to the little care I have when it comes to keeping myself from getting hurt. I have bruises and cuts up and down my legs that can vouch for their worries, however when I learned to skateboard two summers ago I never fell. I say this because this was one of my first acts of dangerous rebellion. My cousin taught me in just a few lessons and with no interference of my parents. I was free to figure out this potentially dangerous skill on my own after I learned to move and turn. I skateboard in my suburban neighborhood that is still under construction so I often played a game that I called dodge the clump. Which is pretty self-explanatory. So I feel that because I was deprived of this type of play I didn’t learn my limits and am now attempting to figure out how far I can push myself. Which is reckless since I live hundreds of miles from home and nowhere near other family members who can help me. Liquidecho only speaks of this type of play as a child and how it shaped her to be adaptive but I feel that my lack of diverse playing made me more open and adaptive when it came to playful situations post childhood.