How creative play with your kids CAN BE a triple win for burnt-out leaders?

An Effortless Idea to Recharge Your Youthful Energy

At work, you could be a Team Leader, Department Head, or a CEO.

You play your role with so much energy that you feel exhausted after work. You know you want to play your parent well, but you have little energy left. 

When you are at home, you are disciplined to stop working and accompany your children to play.

You check the box of ‘spend time with kids’ for the long-term goal of ‘be a good parent’. 

But physical presence does not mean you are present. 

Your mind could still be busy with something else. Just like the background app refresh running on your phone. 

You think about what happened earlier at work, what is due for submission tomorrow, or how to resolve a tough situation with a client. 

You want to play with them, but you are too tired to think of what to play. So you default to being a company.

You wish there were a better solution. 

Photo by CarrieArtsy

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The Power of Creative Play

Beyond regular activities like taking your children for a bike ride, creative play doesn't drain you as you think. It gives you energy. 

I have been watching a dad role-playing with his two toddlers on an Instagram account named Wearethefentons.

What I noticed was: 

• It is a good showcase of what creative play could look like

• The dad seems to enjoy it more than the kids and is energized by it

• He sometimes doesn’t lead and lets his kids guide the process, so he can relax and follow their creativity

  
  

Yes, the content is built for an audience. But if you watch the dad’s face when he plays the games, you can tell he is genuinely enjoying it. 

Imagine 20 years from now, there will be two different memories:

Version A 

Your kid: ‘Yes, my dad once role-played with me when I was young, and we laughed every time we talked about that’

You: ‘We made up the characters; it was a fond memory’

Version B

You kid: ‘Yes, my dad was busy, but he watched me playing my games.’ 

You:‘I went to watch my kid playing games while I was busy working on a project over the phone too’

Which memory do you want to create more for your kids and yourself?

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An Idea to Consider

Try 15 minutes of unstructured play time with your kid daily. 

You don’t (need to) prepare.

Ask your kid to take the lead.

You follow as a curious beginner.  

That doesn’t replace the other playtime for LEGO, badminton, or swimming. This is one thing you incorporate in the family time. 

Whether the unstructured play is role-playing, making arts and crafts, music, or building a robot, be open to participating fully. Let your kids decide and play along.

With everyone struggling to reduce screen time, this creative play is a triple-win method where you can be stress-free, planning-free, and screen-free.  

Have fun playing this game with your kids, like a kid. See how it brings you back your youthful energy.

Hope this article inspires you. If it does, do share with others because

~ WE RISE BY LIFTING OTHERS ~