Until the Streetlights Come On: How a Return to Play Brightens Our Present and Prepares Kids for an Uncertain Future

When our lives are filled with all the things that make us feel fully human, we begin to run out of time for screens and shake free from the grasp of the tech overlords.

Set down your phones. Run barefoot through the grass. Let snowflakes land on your cheeks. Break out a deck of cards on the deck. Lean in. Listen. Relax. Smile. Enjoy. Toss the baseball until the streetlights come on, and then watch the stars appear. You’re doing enough. Keep going. It’s the small things that add up to a big life.

We think of childhood as a time for the child, ts length being considerably greater than the development time of all other mammals, and we conclude it is because the child needs a certain number of years for growth before adulthood. But maybe its length is meant for us too - a slow, drawn-out release of the reins, a letting go that lasts over a period of many years, a transferring of the relay baton, slowed down to imperceptible movements.

Lillian Dickson, independent missionary, author, and speaker, said, “Life is like a coin. You can spend it any way you wish, but you only get to spend it once.”7 Do we really know what we’re spending it on?

Imagine swinging in a hammock with your child, sprawling out on a picnic blanket with some of your favorite books and games, making a flip-book, creating worlds out of blocks, or hiking to a waterfall with its thunderous sounds and having the assurance that this is enough. You can preserve and protect your relationship with your child.

can plant ourselves firmly where we want to be and build an ever-expanding bridge to the other side, visiting only when we want or need to.

The primary predictor of success and happiness in life is our ability to get along with others.

In order to prepare our children for the future and enjoy our lives with them today, the key is to step back to a slower pace, leaving margin for play and exploration so that we can go forward.