After breakfast when I asked Jason if he wanted to go to the local park and play he responded that he wanted to go to the Zoo, so we did. Spontaneity is hard to come by in our busy lives, but it’s so important. Not just with our children, but in all of our relationships. Freedom from the cares of the world is the very essence of childhood and when we respond to their spontaneity, those moments develop over time into great childhood memories.

Parents today load their kids’s schedule with enrichment activities, hoping to get them ahead of the curve. The American Academy of Pediatrics says that spontaneous “kid play” is actually what kids need and crave for healthy development and the building of appropriate social skills. Jason has been using his imagination for a while now, feeding his stuffed puppy snacks or letting his horse drive his train. Besides being fun to watch, the uninstructed activity might be the healthiest development of all for him. If I could just get him to stop pushing our friend “E”.