In Toy Story 3, we saw how children grow up and either donate, discard, store or neglect the toys that they used to spend so much GOOD OLD TIMES with.

I was touched by the story. To me, it is about sentiments and memories.

When I was young…..

I didn’t have the chance to play with that many toys. I recalled how I would share the limited toys with  my neighbours and cousins.

I remember fondly how we used to be highly innovative during our play times, simply making good use of resources around us like sand, leaves, seeds, rubber bands and cloth. 

Amongst others, we played with five stones (made with cloth and beans), skipping ropes made of rubber bands, and marbles. 

Most fun of all - we climbed trees, went on hunt for fruits, played hide and seek in the estate (where compound was large and not constrained by boundary) and fished along the drain (longkang).

Hmm…I am all smiles as I recall.  It was tremendous fun then, even though we had little toys.  Needless to say, I didn’t have the chance to keep any piece of those old toys as keepsake for today.

All the fun we had is in my memory…the fun of playing as a group, sharing and exploring.

Today……

With commercialisation, the varieties of toys have increased.  Toys are bought and played with.

However, how many toys would the children hold dear to as they get fascinated soon by other toys?

With technology, it becomes a common sight for children to carry handphones (which has easy access to games) and electronic game sets.

Besides the luxury of playing with a wide selection of toys, childern can still choose to be resourceful when it comes to play time.

Despite the number of toys that they have owned, they sometimes invent interesting play ideas with existing items at home.

I can seriously relate to this as Darren is creative in keeping himself out of boredom with items he is allowed access to.

His play items are extensive - from laundry basket, bags, kitchen paper roll, chopsticks, empty bottles, clothes hanger - to even my hair clips!

He makes me remember our childhood moments - like I say before playing with leaves, tree branches, many others and even my mom’s handbag *haha*.

Take a Peep…..

At these pictures to catch Darren in action having fun play times with items like laundry basket, balls, sticks, bags and books. 

It can be really messy at times but as long as he does not play with the forbidden items and keeps the items after play, I am alright *grin*.

My exercise hula hoop, bag, books, balls - in for a fun “ball” time

No wonder our laundry basket is missing! As for the books, they apparently have become dividers *lol*.

Chairs are now "goal posts"?

Here, out little boy at PLAY:)

It is good to encourage creative play times for our children (advice: with close supervision by parents for younger children).  Allow them to explore, imagine and share through playing - just like how we used to enjoy ourselves during our younger days. 

These are memories of FUN that will follow us for a life time and not for the moment only.

9 Responses to “Resourceful Playing”