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The Ikea Play Report Every Parent should Read!
Plus: A Powerful Remedy for Stress
Lakshmi Jayanthi
July 02, 2024
Become A Player!
For the last few years, Ikea (yes, the megastore Ikea!) has published a kind of a “State of Play” Report on how play and playfulness is perceived worldwide. This report has impactful insights that resonate with our family and Pickup Sports’ philosophy that playing in all forms is primordial for every child.
Access the 2024 report here.
Here’s a breakdown of what the report says…
Play is like really really important!!
95% of parents say that their child’s happiness is closely or somewhat related to how much or how often they play.
Playfulness is a mindset
It’s not just about taking kids to a playground. Playfulness is a way of thinking and living.
It’s an approach to life that’s all about exploring, experimenting, creating, communicating and connecting.
Playfulness prepares us for an uncertain future
Shocking statistics:
60% of future jobs haven’t been developed yet
40% of children in preschool today will need to be self-employed to have an income as adults.
Kids need to know how to be creative so that they can become adults who are nimble and capable of dealing with uncertainty.
Kids are stressed: Play could be a ticket to improving mental health and happiness It’s important to prioritize play in the place where kids feel most comfortable — at home. |  |
Quick ideas to incorporate more play into daily activities
🍕 Make pizza together, let the kids make shapes out of the dough
🕺🏽💃🏽 Have impromptu dance parties. Ask kids to create their playlist
🎬 Make a family-scripted movie together. Let the kids write the script!
🧩 Use games, puzzles, scavenger hunts to make learning more fun
🤪 Come up with a character like “Silly Sally” or “Suspectful Sam” and you have to stay in character all evening while doing normal things.
Screentime Poll Results
Last week, we asked if you have specific rules or limits for social media use in your family, and here’s what some parents had to say:
“No social media, but 13 year old daughter has an old phone that can text us and friends when on wifi...but we monitor it. We do our best to limit screen time for all kids, but it can be hard. Important Topic!”
“My son doesn’t have yet he is not old enough for it in my opinion and just 30 minutes of use of YouTube is all I allow for him. Plus I can lock any of his devices, I have full control of them.”
Thanks for the responses! We’ll continue to find more tools to help you navigate screens and social media for future issues.