There has been some interesting research looking into play and how children nowadays are not playing as much as they did in the past. Helicopter parenting and increased emphases on schooling and structured activities are a couple of reasons why kids are playing less.
Psychologists and psychiatrists are finding convincing evidence that declining playtime may be connected to increased mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression in young persons.
It seems that play contributes a fair amount towards the nurturing of a child's abilities to self-direct, control impulses, problem solve and socially interact. Children who engage in free, creative play grow up to be happier, more productive and kinder adults, say the scientists.
Our time in Bimini definitely has been occupied by a lot of chores including a huge "spring-cleaning" of the boat, a major engine repair job and multiple other maintenance tasks. The girls have also had to dive into their schoolbooks and practice cello. Jamey and I firmly support and agree with the research above, however, so we made sure we played a lot this week!
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JANUARY 5:
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| Reading, painting, hanging around and loving just being together! |
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| Beaches are the best place for free play. |
This video shows Jamey spotting Phoenix on some backflips. I like how Indy is serenely snorkeling in the background.
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JANUARY 6:
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| Joseph successfully stayed relatively warm and dry while getting a starfish for the girls. |
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| Our friends from Romana, Slow Waltz and Windflower joined us exploring and snorkeling around Bimini. |
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| Sage loved the "Looky Bucket" that had a clear bottom. |
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JANUARY 7:
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| The cold front hit this morning. I actually felt the first whiff of cold air on my cheeks as it arrived and marveled at the distinct transition between warm and cold. |
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| It was amazing to see how different the Gulf Stream looks with a strong north wind versus the flat calm that we had a couple of days ago. In the distance, the horizon shows jagged "marching elephants" that are the giant, steep waves created by the wind vs. current effect. |
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JANUARY 8:
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| The wonderful
thing about being stuck on Bimini is making new friends. June and I had
a refreshing girly chat walking along the beach. |
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| Ready... |
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| Jump... |
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| Flip... |
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| Land. Phoenix did around a 100 of these. |
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| At our beach at home, we like to save beached man o' wars by picking them up by the non-stinging bubble and throwing them back into the ocean. No one wanted to pick this one up. |
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| Age-mixed play is play that occurs with children/teens of different ages. |
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| Nowadays children are often engaged in many structured and planned activities leaving little opportunity for age-mixed play. |
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| Cruising lends itself to age-mixed play as young ones of all ages are super happy to find and spend time with any non-adult. |
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| Age-mixed play benefits younger and older kids by giving them opportunities to learn and develop in ways not available with same age play. |
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| Jane and Sage have developed a special friendship. |
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| We loved hanging out on Romana especially while Jamey and Hyde were working on the engine. |
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| She named this one "Squishy". |
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