Program for August 21, 2011: WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF BEING PLAYFUL?
Program for August 21, 2011
WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF BEING PLAYFUL?
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” —George Bernard Shaw
Playing is how we explore the world around us and gain knowledge. From playful activities, we learn important life skills, discover social connections and rules. Most great scientific discoveries started from experiments fueled by humankind's unquenchable curiosity.
Playing and having fun is also beneficial to our physical and mental health.
Yet, as we grow up, we seem to lose the ability to be playful. The need to be taken seriously becomes greater and greater as we progress in our career and social standing. Is this development harmful in any way? How does it happen? Can we be playful while being responsible?
Discussion Questions
- For adults, what activities can be considered as "playing"? Sports are an obvious example, but how about telling jokes or saying impropriate (but harmless) things once in a while?
- Do you think that the more risks involved in an activity, the more fun it is? How can we manage the risks?
- What keep us from being playful? Are social constraints the biggest factor? Or is this bad experiences (if we felt down from a tree, we would be less inclined to climb trees afterwards)? How can we keep on being playful as we grow older (and have more bad experiences)?
- Have you ever been annoyed (or even hurt) by someone's playfulness? What should we do in this case?
- Do you think that adults must take the responsibility to encourage children's playfulness by being more understanding and forgiving?
Unfold
Program for August 21, 2011: WHY ARE WE AFRAID OF BEING PLAYFUL? by 
doannhutung, 21 Aug 2011 10:32
