Engaging Youth in Meaningful Play

Submitted by Justice Thompson from YMCA of Lethbridge

Since graduating from the University of Lethbridge’s Education program, I have spent the past 6 years focused on working with teens in recreation and support-based settings. Many of the blog posts thus far have focused on meaningful play with an age range I had little experience with, however, when I learned that Lethbridge Plays is for youth of all ages, I knew I had to write about the importance and positive impacts of meaningful teen play!

Often when we talk about the importance of play, we are referring to pre-elementary to junior high aged children. This may be because teenagers can be notoriously difficult to engage with while in a period of life that is full of growth, confusion, learning, and for some, rebellion. Somewhere between adulthood and childhood it’s often easy to forget the important role play and fun have for teenage youth. Before going into specifics, it’s worth redefining play in terms that are specific to teens:

“Play for adolescents is a freedom to invent, to create, to bend or construct rules, to enhance the norm or disturb the status quo and then observe the results of their actions. Play is experimentation and having fun purely for its own sake.”

— Heather R. Hayes

The benefits of play for youth adolescents extends beyond simply just having fun. Play is shown to aid in intellectual, emotional, physical and social development in teens. Intellectually, play gives youth an opportunity to develop creative thinking and builds their executive function skills. Engineering play that involves building or designing something in either real life or online has also been shown to help build and develop mathematical reasoning. Emotionally, social play gives youth an opportunity to develop self-regulation, practice setting boundaries and rules, and experience anticipation, disappointment or frustration in a low-stakes environment. Tools are intrinsically developed to help them manage big and difficult emotions in a productive way. The physical benefits of play are probably the most obvious to see, as youth are typically involved with sports, games, arts, and/or outdoor activities. These activities help youth build healthy habits and develop strength, muscle control, coordination, and reflexes. Socially, play allows teens to experiment with behaviour and communication techniques, practice negotiation, and reach collective compromises.

Now that we know the benefits of meaningful teen play, the question becomes how do we engage this historically apathetic group of youth? In my 5+ years working with youth, I have found the following strategies effective when trying to engage with this age group:

Engaging teens in play can be as easy as keeping play focused on youth interests. Does your teen enjoy a particular sport, musician, skateboarding, fishing, or a specific video game? Base activities in these interests no matter how trivial or confusing they may seem to you. These interests matter to each individual youth, and it means something when you show interest in them.
Effective teen play is youth-led. Anytime teens get the opportunity to plan and lead an activity, you will always get more buy-in. Ask your teen to pick a fun family activity, plan a group outing, or come up with something you can do together - you may be surprised by what they come up with!
Engaging teens requires honesty and transparency. Teens are of an age where they understand and appreciate open and honest communication. Don’t pretend to be something you are not; just keep an open mind and talk to them; you may be surprised!
Finally, teen play does not always involve you. Encourage your teen to hang out with friends independently and in a safe environment. Give your youth space and time with their friends and the grace to experiment and potentially make mistakes. Teens are still learning and won’t always make the perfect or right choices. Your support shows them they will have someone to call if they are in trouble or need support.

With all of this in mind, encourage your teens to go out, play, and have fun! Childhood is so short and it’s important to encourage our teens to be kids - encourage them to maintain their childhood interests and hobbies and show support when they express new interests. We have so many great parks and green spaces here in Lethbridge, outdoor skating rinks, sledding hills, a vast amount of beautiful nature in and around the city, the Nikka Yuko Holiday Lights, arcades, board game cafes, and more. Encourage your teens to explore what Lethbridge has to offer! Moving into the Winter season, we have wonderful indoor youth facilities like the YMCA of Lethbridge, the BGCL Youth Centre, and Youth One - all of which provide year-round, safe and supervised spaces for teens to have fun and engage in meaningful play!

I hope that this pushes you to encourage your teen to have fun. Let them be kids, help them engage in safe play, and get their input when planning family activities!

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