{"href":"https://api.simplecast.com/oembed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fplay-for-a-change.simplecast.com%2Fepisodes%2Fwhy-you-cant-afford-not-to-play-MZDJWR0H","width":444,"version":"1.0","type":"rich","title":"Why You Can’t Afford NOT to PLAY","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://image.simplecastcdn.com/images/19c714a2-1d97-4f9b-97d4-85f740d985a6/1b499517-75fa-431e-a377-6b0bbedf8721/come-out-and-play-for-a-change-11.jpg","thumbnail_height":300,"provider_url":"https://simplecast.com","provider_name":"Simplecast","html":"","height":200,"description":"On the playground today I want to talk about why we can't afford NOT to play.\nThere are a whole bunch of really frightening things happening in the world right now, and we need to talk about the importance of staying in play during times of challenge.\n\nDo you know what happens to inclusion when people feel afraid of what will happen next, or something unexpected changes their way of living, or they feel vulnerable to loss or massive change?\nIt does not flourish…\n\nResearch indicates that play deprivation can contribute to a reduced sense of personal control, reduced ability to control emotions, increased social isolation, and reduced happiness, all of which are associated with anxiety and/or depression. (Grey, P. 2017)\n\nIn a time when we are reducing social contact and increasing physical isolation let’s consider what we will need to survive… it is not just food and water… without play and playfulness, we will struggle to come up with creative and innovative ideas, resilience and persistence…\n\nThe world needs answers, and I believe the solutions are always in play.\nWe need to provide space for them to grow.\n\nWe can't afford NOT to play.\n"}