My Connections to Play

     


 

My parents were always very supportive of my play and would encourage me to explore anything that I thought was possible.  They were always willing to play with me and would keep my imagination alive. I feel like play is much different now than it was when I was a child because of the amount of technology that is used.  It is interesting for me to see little one and two year old children being obsessed with phones and iPads.  It seems like young children would much rather spend their time watching television or playing with different types of technology, instead of playing outside or with toys.  When I was young, my siblings and I would spend a lot of time playing outside with our neighbors.  This is something I never see in my neighborhood anymore.  I have young relatives who have an iPhone and they spend all of their time on the phone.  They never seem to read any books and when their friends are with them they mostly just play on their phones.  When I was young, my friends and I would love to pretend play "school" and "house" and could spend all of our time with imaginative play.  I also enjoyed playing with my siblings and we would all pretend play with our kitchen and dolls. Play is still a part of me today.  Play is crucial for healthy development and is something that I will always support.

Relationship Reflection

As human beings, it would not be possible to survive without human interaction.  Having positive relationships are some of the greatest things to enjoy in life.  The most important people in my life are my family members and a few close friends.  I cherish the time I get to spend with them and there are no other people I would rather spend my time with.

My husband is the absolute most important relationship I have.  My husband is someone that I know I can trust with anything.  He is there for me during the happy times, as well as the hard times.  Above all, he is my best friend, which makes life very enjoyable.  The best thing about being with my husband is that I don't ever have to feel uncomfortable with who I am, because he always accepts me.
The next relationship in my life that I am so grateful for is with my mom.  Everybody who ever meets my mom absolutely loves her because no matter who you are, she has the ability to make you feel like you are the best.  I have been so blessed to have her in my life as my greatest cheerleader.  No matter the accomplishment, she can make me feel amazing for what I do.  She is also very encouraging and motivating and has the most positive energy imaginable.  She is an amazing example of service and would do anything for anyone.

One of my best friends from college is so important to me because we are able to talk about our passion in life-children! We met in one of my first child development classes and instantly became best friends.  She is someone that I enjoy being around because we are able to deeply reflect about different child development topics together.  Even if we aren't talking about child development, we are still able to have meaningful conversations that I so appreciate.  She is such a confident person and truly inspires me to be a better person in all that I do.





I have learned throughout my life that there are so many ways to find commonalities between people that you never thought possible!  One of the most important attributes to being in a relationship is your listening skills.  There is nothing more disappointing than trying to tell someone how you feel and feeling like they aren't listening.  Showing someone that you have time for them lets that person know that they can trust you.

I appreciate all of the attributes that my husband, mom, and best friend have.  They are excellent listeners, trustworthy, compassionate, motivating, and so much more. We can learn from the people we are close to about what is necessary to being in a positive relationship. We can then use the attributes that we appreciate, to be in positive relationships with the families that we work with professionally.  It is important for the families that bring their children to us, to know that they can trust us that we will provide their children with the best possible outcomes.