When Was The Last Time You Played Like Your Child?

Our society these days has become rushed, Parents spend a majority of their time running around fetching this, running that errand, and running, running, running.
It just never seems to stop. It has become so bad that in most homes even dinner time has become a sped through, gotta get it done, just to get it done task.

When was the last time you actually PLAYED with your child.
I don't mean making block towers, or pushing buttons on those electronic books and toys, I mean PLAYED. Full out, in character, imagination going full steam, played.

Not a lot of parents do this anymore, and I just don't understand why not. Active play is so important to a child, and parents joining in just makes their day

You can incorporate full on play into pretty much any situation even if your constantly busy. This is an example of an errand I had to run, and how I turned it into playtime.

Little man and I were invited to a birthday party this past weekend, which means going to pick out the birthday present for the birthday kid. My little guy was already playing pirate and I hate to interrupt good play, so I used this as a chance to get to play with him again today, and the birthday present hunt turned into a pirate treasure hunt.
After picking out the perfect pirate outfits, mommy and baby pirate went in search of the coveted pirate booty...the birthday present.
We found our prefect pirate ship conveniently parked tn our driveway, and after getting buckled into our pirate seats, off we went over the seven seas in search of our treasure.
Not long after setting sail, dodging a few other pirates, and avoiding a giant man eating jellyfish monster, we found an island that our hand drawn treasure map said was there.
Then came the really fun part, exploring the island we named toy store, and seeing if the treasure we were looking for was real. We snuck up and down aisles, peeked around corners, outran a scary troll, and finally found girl forest ( the aisle with the girl toys).

Little man had lots of fun, I had lots of fun, and the people in the store thought it was awesome. I really don't care what people think, but it is always a bit more fun when you can get a few to play along.
Its just a small example of what you can do to not only help your child's imagination grow, but add some fun to any errand or outing you have to do. Children thrive on their parents playing in their world.
Active play with your child can also be used as a teaching tool. Children learn much easier by playing then by memorizing facts from books.
The next time you have active play with your child, make it historical. Maybe instead of being a pirate you can be explorers named Magellan, or Christopher Columbus, or vikings from long ago.

You can pretend to be the wright brothers inventing the plane in your backyard. Or Thomas Edison, or Benjamin Franklin....the sky is the limit. You can pick anyone or anything from history and turn it into the best family time your little ones will remember forever,.

Your children will have fun, you will have fun, and everyone will learn something.