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Making Learning Fun With Playful ParentingMaking learning fun with playful parenting is a usefulapproach with children who need a little jolt, in the form of a surprise to stimulate their learning interest. This technique can be attempted with the child and family that has fallen into a learning rut. It depends upon surprise to catch the child's interest. An example follows: One evening, as I sat watching TV with my eight year old daughter, I worried because, after our recent divorce, she had grown quiet. She'd, also, lost a good deal of her interest in learning. She appeared bored. Moreover, I realized we'd fallen into a TV rut, watching hours of TV after dinner each night. This reminded me of how I'd yearned to talk to my father through the years, on holidays and special occasions when I visited him, but the television always stood between us. Indeed, some of my own high school clients complained about this problem with their parents, and now, here I was doing the same thing. Recalling how playful parenting, through surprise, can be utilized for, not only making learning fun, but for awakening learning in the child, I decided to switch the TV off. She responded with the following: “Why did you turn the TV off, Papa?” “I wanted to see what it would be like in the house with the TV switched off.” (This is making learning fun by playful parenting with surprise used to stimulate change and, hopefully, learning) “But I want to watch Lois and Clark, Papa? I stood up and walked across the room to switch all the lights off. “What are you doing now, Papa?” “I’m turning the lights off.” “Why?” Sitting next to her, I responded with, “Because we like the dark.” “We like the dark?” “We like the dark.” “I’m afraid of the dark? "You fear the dark." "Why did you turn off the lights, Papa?” “I was curious about what might happen if I did that?” “I’m afraid of the dark.” “Why are you afraid of the dark?” I asked as she began moving closer to me. Staring from the living room into the kitchen, she retorted, “I think I see some sharp teeth.” “Where?” “Under the chair in the dark.” “What else do you see?” “It might be a wolf, papa. I’m scared. Maybe we should turn on the lights.” Now she was sitting on my lap, staring into the dark. “I’m here. I don’t see the wolf, but I won’t let him hurt you. Maybe he’s a nice wolf? Should I walk over to the wolf and say hello, Mr. Wolf?” “No, Papa, I want you to stay here with me?” “Have you ever seen the wolf before?” “Sometimes, at mama’s house, at night, I think I hear him under the bed.” “What is he doing?” “Growling.” “What do you do when he growls?” “I hide under the covers or ask mama to look under the bed.” “Have you seen the wolf in your bedroom here?” “No, papa, he doesn’t come here.” “Shall I turn the lights on so we can see if the wolf is still there?” “Turn the lights on, Papa.” After I switched the lights on she explained, “He’s gone, Papa.” “Where did he go?” “I don’t know.” “Do you want me to switch off the lights again so we can see where he went?” “No, Papa. I’m afraid of that ole wolf.” Making learning fun, through the surprise switching off of the TV, caused the childhood imagination to replace the TV as a source of entertainment. This experience, not only brought my daughter and me closer together, for she even moved physically closer to me, but it added adventure and to our interaction. This is making learning fun through sharing a common adventure together. She got to experience her father’s protective function. It proved an informative experience for me. She’d never spoken to me about the wolf. It opened the door for her speaking with me about her fears and to her learning that I didn’t have the same fears she had, but that I accepted her fears as real. Surprisingly, she asked me the following night to turn off the lights again, which I did. This experience, eventually, evolved into a regular game for us. Often she would repeat, “We like the dark,” as if to say, I’m afraid of the dark, but, maybe, I don’t have to be so afraid of the dark. Our night games progressed to tent building and reading stories with flashlights in the living room. Later we expanded to star gazing games, after I pointed out a star shining through the living room window one night. Eventually, we visited the county library and checked out a fluorescent map of the constellations so we could observe and learn them at night. My daughter's interest in learning began to revive along with increased communication on her part. What's more, I felt better about my fathering role because we were communicating and sharing more experiences together. And to think, this all began by keeping in mind making learning fun through playful parenting. Regarding playful parenting and making learning fun through surprise, the following points stand out: 1. Watching television prevents important family communications from transpiring, hinders family emotional bonding that personal communication engenders, and impedes the spontaneous use of the imagination, along with further opportunities for learning. 2. A dark night and a child's imagination make for learning adventure. 3. Playful parenting, by making learning fun through surprise, can re-ignite a child's interest in learning, and perhaps even in life after divorce. 4. Playful parenting helps parents feel better about themselves because it gives them, not just another parenting tool, but an additional, positive way of thinking and experiencing parenting, by adding a playful dimension to it. Click here, for information related to playful parenting and making learning fun.
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