{"id":3474,"date":"2022-05-13T11:35:49","date_gmt":"2022-05-13T18:35:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/?p=3474"},"modified":"2023-06-26T13:26:51","modified_gmt":"2023-06-26T20:26:51","slug":"the-promise-of-play","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/2022\/05\/13\/the-promise-of-play\/","title":{"rendered":"The promise of play"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Kids need to play.\u00a0 We all instinctively know it.\u00a0 If you Google the importance of play you will find many studies validating it, saying things like \u201cPlay allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, cognitive dexterity, and emotional strength.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cKids Need to Play\u201d was the aptly named Parks program funded by the federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) last summer.\u00a0 In partnership with other parks systems, we deeply discounted access to activities throughout the County to help all our kids get outside and play after being cooped up by COVID.<\/p>\n

Yesterday, I was invited to make some opening comments at the annual Promise of Play Symposium sponsored by Greentrike (formerly the Children\u2019s Museum). \u00a0The Greentrike team, led by Executive Director Tanya Durand, is challenging us to take our commitment to our children \u2013 and a stronger community – to a new level.<\/p>\n

You know by now that I love data. Did you know that 23.3% of our County population is under 18 years of age?\u00a0 That\u2019s almost 1 in 4.\u00a0 That means we have over 215,000 children and young adults \u2013 the equivalent of the population of Tacoma.\u00a0 As a percentage, we have more youth and young adults than King County.\u00a0 We also have more of the youngest children, those under 5 years old, as a percentage than our neighbors to the north. Do you think our K-12 schools are important to our community?\u00a0 Yes, they are!\u00a0 And we have over 61,000 children under 5 years of age headed their way.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s how adults look at a situation \u2013 numbers, trends, and comparisons. However, my perspective on youth in our community has changed because I now get to see it through the eyes of my granddaughters.<\/p>\n

So, when Tanya invited me to speak at the symposium, I said I would be happy to join them and that I\u2019d like to bring my granddaughter, Blair, with me.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Onstage with Blair and Tanya Durand<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Tanya interviewed both of us in the morning to open the symposium.\u00a0 Blair talked about how she loves going to school, visiting the aquarium and spending time with her Pops (me).<\/p>\n

\"\"
Blair with her Pops<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Hearing her perspective on what makes her happy provided valuable insights.\u00a0 For example, she loves the aquarium because the displays are at the right height for her to see what\u2019s going on. (Thank you to the staff who clean all the little hand prints off each day!)<\/p>\n

Seeing things through her eyes (and all the other wonderful and amazing \u201cBlairs\u201d in our community) gives us a vision for ways we may be leaving young people out of our considerations.<\/p>\n

Greentrike\u2019s challenge was: How can we make Pierce County the best place to grow up?\u00a0 They highlighted three things we can do today to energize this effort:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Infuse your spaces with play.<\/li>\n
  2. When making decisions, seek out young voices.<\/li>\n
  3. Connect with one youth beyond your circle.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Those are excellent principles for all of us to keep in mind in our work for our community.\u00a0 And not just for our Parks team, but anywhere we see kids in our work \u2013 and I see many in the lobby of the County-City Building!\u00a0 Learn more at www.greentrike.org\/child-and-youth-centered<\/a>.<\/p>\n

    If we achieve this challenge, it will definitely be great for our youth, but it would also be good for everyone in our community.\u00a0 I was reminded of this just last Saturday at the ribbon cutting for the new playground at Lidford Playfield.\u00a0 All ages came out to celebrate this new place to play in the neighborhood.\u00a0 I talked with parents there with their children on the playground and long-term members of the community who use the walking path.\u00a0 They all saw the park as a place for their community to come together. Congratulations to everyone who made it possible to provide a new place to play!<\/p>\n

    As I close out this blog, one last reminder: don\u2019t forget to join me on Wednesday for the Town Hall. I can tell from the anonymous questions I\u2019ve already received that your colleagues have a lot on their minds!<\/p>\n

    Thanks for reading,<\/p>\n

    \"\"<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n

    Bruce<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Kids need to play.\u00a0 We all instinctively know it.\u00a0 If you Google the importance of play you will find many studies validating it, saying things like \u201cPlay allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, cognitive dexterity, and emotional strength.\u201d \u201cKids Need to Play\u201d was the aptly named Parks program funded by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":59,"featured_media":3475,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[38509],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe promise of play - Pierce County Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.piercecountywa.gov\/executive\/2022\/05\/13\/the-promise-of-play\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The promise of play - 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