18 Months of Play
I have a confession to make. I’ve been holding up the Toy Diplomacy Blog… For like a long time… I've been meaning to write this piece for what feels like an eternity, but I’ve just been sitting on it for months with total task paralysis, unable to put the words down.
It really shouldn't have been hard - I’d agreed to write a blog post about what I’ve learned as a new mum watching my son play in the first 12 months of his life. Now to cut myself a little slack, I’m pretty sleep deprived these days and I spend a lot more time looking for Green Sheep than I used to… But mainly I’ve just been overthinking it, wondering what profound insights I could share. Obviously my first attempt at blog writing should rival Shakespeare Dr Suess…(If it's not perfect, I'm surely a flop, no skill in my writing, I might as well stop!...)
But I think it’s finally hit me, the main thing I’ve learnt from watching my little dude is really that I need to follow his lead because he’s the one who has it all figured out. So here we go, here's what I’ve learnt from watching him play for the first - ahem - 18 months of his life.
Lesson 1: The Art of Overthinking
For me, becoming a mum has been the most amazing, fun and identity affirming experience ever. That said it has also been a masterclass in the fine art of overthinking. I've spent hours contemplating whether the baby's socks match his onesie, perfectly balanced baby meals and the future educational implications of reaching the end of the day and realising you haven’t read a single book. I can turn a simple trip to Woolies into a strategic mission with a detailed plan, contingency plans, flowchart and an emergency banana. It's not just an obsession; it's a lifestyle and I have a PHD in panicking and a black belt in overanalyzing. And sometimes it leaves me frozen doing nothing in favour of getting it wrong.
Lesson 2: The Illusive Art of Chill
Babies, though, are the true experts at the art of not stressing. They're like Zen masters in nappies, teaching us valuable lessons about openness, resilience, adaptiveness and willingness to learn. They don’t care who sees them fall or if they have a poo stain seeping through their pants.
While I'm here, debating whether it would be gentler on my son to have his 18 month vaccinations on a Tuesday or a Friday, he is busy showing me that life isn't about getting every detail right, right away. It's about diving in, learning as you go, and having a grand old time while you're at it.
After all, before you learn to wash up you must first tip all of the water in the sink all over yourself and before you learn to garden you must first tip all of the soil out of the pots all over yourself and before you learn to paint you must first tip all of the paint out of the bottles and all over yourself… That’s right isn’t it?… God I hope that’s right
Lesson 3: The Zen of Playtime
In a world where grown-ups are distracted worrying about how we’re perceived by other people or made up potential problems in an imagined version of the future, babies show us that life's most valuable lessons come from something as seemingly simple as stacking blocks, learning, and discovering through play.
I really believe we are all born geniuses with an incredible ability to learn. The most amazing adults are the ones that are able to hold onto that joy in learning, persistence and inquisitiveness.
At Toy Diplomacy, we really do embrace this idea wholeheartedly. We understand the transformative power of play because we've observed the unfiltered brilliance of children. Our consultative play-based work is grounded in this fundamental truth: that embracing a playful spirit can unlock solutions, foster preparedness, drive social change, and nurture resilience. We echo the uninhibited nature of childhood, using creativity and play as tools to engage with communities everywhere, empowering them to find their path amidst life's complexities. Sometimes the most profound lessons emerge when we simply let go and have a bit of fun.
Because, let's face it, if there's anyone who has life all figured out, it's those little humans running around with one shoe on, their morning oats smooshed into their hair and a borderline concerning obsession with Thomas the Tank Engine. They are the happiest, having the most fun and learning at a rate I can only dream of. So here's to embracing play, letting loose, and rediscovering the joy of learning without overthinking. It’s time to dust off our imagination and join the playground parade because, frankly, kids are showing us the way, and it’s about time we followed. And with that in mind I will close my eyes and hit post on a blog that, if nothing else, I had a bit of fun writing…
By Julia Doszpot