Play as therapy...
It's amazing how a world event can significantly affect play themes and how much children need play to express and process ideas so big and intangible.
This morning while I was doing a lap of the Adventure Playground the ominous presence of COVID-19 was ever present. From building "survival bunkers" to "cooking at home as we cannot go out at the moment", the themes and dialogue were everywhere. On social media and other play spaced we often see themes like this that are deemed “heavy” by adults shut down, or more accurately shut down on the surface and at face value. This knee jerk reaction, like most knee jerk reactions serves not the child’s agenda, but rather the adults.
Time to process and organise thoughts is so important and is a window into exactly how to support the play which supports the children. The content was confronting and heavy but one theme flowed through all play frames... The children were in control. They were working on solutions to the problem not living in fear of it. They were maintaining a growth mind set and strong internal locus of control... These key ingredients in anxiety avoidance.
Angus Gorrie
