Youth Work is Purposeful play

I have learned a lot about purposeful play from this week's reading as well as other YDEV classes I have taken in the past. I really enjoyed exploring more in depth this topic. It helped me enriched my knowledge. I was able to obtain new insight regarding play and development. I must admit, prior being part of this major I did not really payed attention purposeful play since I was not aware of how beneficial it is for kids/youth. I thought purposeful play was meant to only entertain kids and keep them away from TV. As adults we have the responsibility to teach kids to distinguish purposeful play, I personally never learned anything about it until  around Fourteen, and still it was not interesting to me.

I really connected with the reading from Henry Jenkins, it clearly states that purposeful play is "the capacity of experimenting one's surrounding as a form of problem solving" that quote really resonated to me, it was very powerful since that is was we learn in YDEV, we influence youth to be aware of their surroundings, because that determines the decisions they would make in life. Purposeful play is soooo important for development, it is also a great way to engage and motivate them. Purposeful play is an enjoyable activity that contributes with development as well as personal growth. It also allows children create innovation and creativity. When children play they use their imagination, they associate everything with play. Playing give them a change to practice what they are learning and strengthen their social skills while they play with other kids.