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June 2006
Bringing Playtime Back into Childhood
By: Laura Bradford
Creative Writer
Come home when the street lights turn on.
That was the rule when I was a kid. And, looking back, it was a pretty good rule. It gave us a tangible end to the neighborhood kickball game or backyard Olympics or whatever else was the neatest thing to play that particular week, it saved my mom from having to track me down when dinner was ready and, most importantly, it meant I was outside. Playing.
It’s that last part (about playing outside) that’s become something of a novel concept these days. Instead of kickball in the cul-de-sac with nine neighborhood friends, kids are inside playing baseball on their Nintendo. Alone.
Instead of playing hide-n-seek in the woods, they’re watching television. Alone.
Instead of riding their bikes, they’re sitting on the couch eating chips and assorted junk food. Alone.
Sure, we ate junk food (my love of chocolate started somewhere you know), but we spent a lot more time outdoors. Playing.
My favorite outdoor game? Ship.
Huh?
Technically it was more of a rock (a big one), but we called it our ship. And everyday I’d meet five of my neighborhood friends at the top of this rock for that day’s installment (think shipwrecked version of Lost in Space) of our beloved game. It was imagination at its finest, if I must say so myself.
A simple childhood game? Sure. But a vivid memory even today, some twenty-eight years later. Much more vivid a memory than I imagine a video game will provide after the same amount of time.
Which is one of the many reasons I love New Town. There are so many nooks and crannies that beckon to a child’s natural desire to play and explore. There are the roads to bike on, the market to walk to for a treat (better exercise than heading to the pantry in the next room), the large green spaces perfect for kite flying, and the various play sets designed for climbing and sliding.
And now—with the completion of Triangle Park—the stage to create and pretend on to their heart’s content.
In fact, the hand crafted stage is so alluring that I suspect quite a few parents will be hamming it up alongside their kids in the years to come. I mean, how can they resist? The bright blues, reds, greens and yellows create a whimsical setting for the simplest and most complex of shows. The "now playing" and "starring" chalkboards on the side of the stage bring an added touch of realism, while the fan mail slot stirs up images of tossed rose petals and thunderous applause.
Even the brick walkway leading to—and around—the stage is anything but ordinary with its magical golden hue. Only this yellow brick road leads its travelers to something a million times better than Oz. …It leads them to wherever their imagination and creativity will take them.
The reason for the stage? To give kids a place to put on shows for themselves. A place to imagine they’re someone else, to create a world different from their everyday life. A place to show them that each new day can bring all new ideas, all new play. A place for parents to step aside and let kids do what kids do best. Be kids.
It’s the kind of place I would have adored as a child. The kind of place that would’ve created memories I’d remember twenty-eight years later. Like Ship.
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