We’d think these activities are meant to keep children occupied, to develop their motor skills etc. In reality, what they do, is keep the parents occupied.

Kids, particularly toddlers, need to engage in free guided play where they can equally develop their motor skills. Janet Lansbury says so and I’m with her. I’m a hopeless believer thinking my three-year toddler can build Christmas trees with paper decorations and other materials, even if I’m right next to him. I can hope in fact, for about five minutes…

He always guides us into what he’s interested in playing and we’ve learned that what he really needs is a safe space to use his imagination. Play is a serious work, said someone. We can’t entertain children, unless we want to entertain ourselves too. Otherwise, we might fall in the trap of always being the entertainer. Which eventually means we’ll end up complaining that we don’t have time for anything else. Children always lead the way. In this journey, we’ve learned to guide them to what they need, instead of what they want.