“My Supports”

“My Supports”

The factors that within my daily environment that are supportive to me is my husband as well as my family. My husband provides support financially, emotionally, physically, and more. He is very supportive in helping around the house with chores, doing the grocery shopping, laundry and seeing to it that the bills get paid. I receive emotional support from him and my family when I may be going through a difficult time because of health issues. I think support from families especially is extremely important. We all have that moment in our life from time to time where we need that shoulder to cry on or just someone to talk to. I have that support from my husband and other members of my family. I even have a select few of girl friends that I consider to be real supportive and true friends no matter what. I see these benefits as very important to me in my life. I tell my husband all the time I don’t know what I would do without him. He is the backbone and the one who keeps me going no matter what. I am thankful each and every day to have him in my life. It is very difficult for me to imagine what I would do if he was gone. We have known each other since we were 10 and 9 and married for 31 years. So he is my life and my support. He would be very difficult to lose any of my support systems. I would have to start all over again and I guarantee things would not be the same. When I think about some of the tasks I have to do they are right there with me if I need help. You don’t find many people like that today.

The challenge I chose would be what if I could not walk. This is something I could never imagine and it would indeed be a challenge for me. I like to keep moving and I love playing tennis, bowling, roller skating, jump rope, baseball and working with children. Not being able to walk would limit me in many ways. I would need supports like a wheel chair, crutches, or even some accommodations would definitively have to be made to my home. I would probably need some assistance in others area as well with dressing and grooming. What about cooking? I can cook but can I cook the way I am used to. As I look around the house I say to myself I am fortunate and it teaches you a lesson. The lesson is you now have a disability and you need support services.

Even though it may be a challenge I can still see my husband, family and friends being supportive and making themselves available to assist. We have had to do this on other occasions and so it is a part of life for us. They would see to it that I have received whatever support services I need. In addition they would put their lives on hold to make sure I am taken care of. We all do it all the time and that is to give of ourselves. They help, with cleaning, cooking, doing laundry, grocery shopping, paying bills, picking up medication, bathing and whatever chores need to be done. They even will come and just spend time with me talking, laughing, joking, playing card games and just spending some quality time. I have eight brother and sisters and a mother and father so we have always been a support system for one another. My husband’s family is the same way so this just carried over into our marriage. Having these supports is something to help you get through the challenges and to know you have folks there for you. I simply cannot imagine not having them.

Not having these supports again would be a challenge and I would have to rely on others. That is a feeling I would not want to think about or experience. It would make me have some trust issues. If it came down to it I would get the supports I need to help me focus, live from day to day and survive in society.

“Having supports in my life is something I need”

Having social support systems are an important part of my life. These systems include anyone I can trust and can go to for help, advice, or any other type of emotional support. My social support system may be made up of my friends and family members and others. The people that support me have their own support systems. My support systems include:

• Family members
• Friends
• Health care providers
• Co-workers
• Social workers
• Teachers
• Anyone else who I trust

I find that having good social support systems can also be fun! I can call on members of my social support system when I want to participate in an activity or just talk about what is going on in my life. Without friends and other social supports I feel lonely, bored, and isolated. So that doesn't happened I make sure I have the right support systems in my life.

Childhood Connections to Play

“My Connections to Play”


The two quotes that I feel summarize what play represents for me in childhood are: 
 

The most effective kind of education is that a child should play amongst lovely things.” ~ Plato (Greek philosopher)

“Play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning…They have to play with what they know to be true in order to find out more, and then they can  use what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood)

Fred Rogers taught us that “play gives children a chance to practice what they are learning.” Preschoolers bring their own life experiences and daily skill development to every activity.

Growing up as a child was a wonderful experience and one I will never forget. I come from a family of five sisters and three brothers and so play was something we did quite often as children and played a major role in our development. Whether jumping rope, playing baseball, building block, hop scotch, hide and seek, putting together puzzles, playing dress up with our parents clothes and shoes, playing cards, racing each other or board games we was always playing. We played with each other and many neighbors’ kids on the block. Play was our pastime and a daily part of life. We played with our parents and other members of our family like cousins, aunts and uncles. My parents always made it a point to spend quality time to play with all of us and it in-turn helped us to learn to play with others and how to act. My parents felt it was extremely important for them as well as for us to be involved in play. I can truthfully say that it helped to establish and form bonds. Playing also taught us how to share with one another, communicate, solve differences, and taught us how to solve our own problems without having to involve others.

As I reflect on play when I was growing up I would have to say play is very similar to what I engaged in as a child. Just yesterday I observed some children in the preschool classroom playing with one another. Some of them were playing with block, games and puzzles. One child in particular had a difficult time with the puzzle. As I watched you could see the determination in his face to solve the problem by getting that piece of puzzle to fit in the way it should. He was very successful and happy in doing so. In addition a couple of the students are strengthening their language skills by modeling the other children and the teacher in the classroom. One child stated she was the mommy and the other was the daddy. There were other students playing in a group and building blocks as they engaged in conversation. Another student was pretending to read a story to the other teacher. Based on this observation I would have to say that play is very similar to when I was growing up.

My hope now for young children is that they be given every opportunity to play. Play is very essential for a child’s development and for their learning skills. Since many parents work and go to school it can be extremely difficult for them to spend quality time with their children. This is where balance comes into play. Whether at home or in school anyone involved with children need to make sure children are playing because playing is essential for their development.  

When you asked me what I did in school today

and I say, 'I just played.' Please don’t misunderstand

me. For you see, I am learning as I play. I am

learning to enjoy and be successful in my work.

Today I am a child and my work is play.”

Anita Wadley, 1974.

The role of play throughout my life and even today has not changed. I think all children whether young or old should be engaged in play as much as possible. My experience over the years has taught me about the importance of play and that “yes” children can learn through play. When you play you feel connected. In my mind play is a wonderful thing and something I value a great deal. 

Resources: 

Ginsberg, K. (2007. The importance of play in promoting healthy development and maintaining strong psrent-child bonds. Pediatrics, 119(1), 182-191. Retrieved from http://www.waldorfresearchinstitute.org/pdf/BAPlayAlmon.pdf 

 

 Anderson-McNamee, J.K., ( 2010),The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Development. Retrieved on January 31, 2014 from: http://msuextension.org/publications/HomeHealthandFamily/MT201003HR.pdf