Playing at the Park is Good Prep for the Office

By Allison Berman
August 26, 2008

What comes to mind when someone mentions "a day at the park"? Do you think of play time? I did too until a recent trip there with my daughters when it hit me, for small children playing is their career. Thinking of it from that perspective, I really enjoyed watching my older daughter and her friends at "work" honing skills that will serve them well later in life no matter what they decide to be when they grow up.

These children start working from the moment they step foot in the park. Most parents don't make play dates; they just show up, which means if the kids want to play with other children they need to learn how to make new friends, a valuable life lesson. What happens when they don't agree? Unlike adults, conflicting ideology doesn't spark stimulating debates, it can sparks wars. When my daughter's new friend wanted to play in the sand and my daughter wanted to go on the swing, tensions ran high as the little attorneys in training tried to "use their words" to negotiate mutually acceptable terms.

My daughter eventually decided it was preferable to do what she wanted even if it meant playing solo so she wandered over to the slide where a big kid "wasn't being very nice" to a toddler who was blocking the slide. Another child intervened on the small boy's behalf telling the bully that the baby didn't know better, and patiently explained to the toddler that it was more fun to go down the slide than to wait at the top. The little boy begrudgingly acquiesced and eventually found pleasure in taking turns, and the older child beamed with pride at being "being able to teach the baby".

Some parents come to the park empty handed but most bring toys or food, and inevitably every kid wants what the next child has. It is fascinating to watch the future business moguls leverage their own grapes and their friend's pokemon cards for use of another child's shovel.

The more I observed the less they seemed like children and the more they seemed like mini adults. Or perhaps as adults we are just really big kids. Anyway, the CEOs decided they all should "go fishing" and formulated the necessary plans that the worker bees put into motion. Surprisingly most of the children didn't mind being "bossed around." Instead they complied, happy to have a plan, and even happier not having to figure out that plan themselves, a symbiotic relationship among the big picture people and the doers.

Everything was going great until the ice cream truck pulled up singing its familiar tune. The children immediately abandoned their fishing assignments and ran to their parents where they tried out their negotiating skills, deliberating the merits of why they NEEDED an ice cream cone with sprinkles... pleeeaaase.

Allison Berman, an artist and mother of two, handpaints custom home accessories for interior designers and private customers. She works out of her home studio in Warwick, NY. See her collection at www.withlovealib.com. She can be reached at ali@withlovealib.com. Her column appears Tuesdays.