Playhood

🌟 Our major report is out! Thanks to a reporting grant from the Better Life Lab, we were able to conduct global research on a model with 150+ iterations but no comprehensive coverage or analysis. is a think-and-act tank devoted to nurturing new voices with policy ideas. Meeting amazing founders, practitioners and families was inspiring; getting to tell their stories is an honour 🙌 We hope to be part of more research and a supportive network. And we’ve new co-location adventures ahead in the new year. Link in bio!

Our new website has info on how we hope to collaborate and how to get in touch — Playhood.Club

🌱 We’ve been working behind the scenes on a range of projects with wonderful partners and clients, and sharing our case study and global research into co-located services for families

📰 We have news! Our graduates have settled into their schools and their new chapters. Twenty-two children competed a magical nursery experience at our unique setting over the last five years with their parents onsite each day in our workspace. This summer, we closed that physical shared space. [🧵1/3]

🏡An impactful type of play by young children is exploring and role-playing their ideas about *home*.

From the characters and props to the vocabulary and routines, after about 3 years old, the idea that other people have different layouts, furniture and ways of doing things in their houses becomes fascinating!

Positive feelings of control, order and ownership can come from play-acting as adults, and working through practical tasks and scenarios relating to domestic life extends communication skills even further.

➡️Swipe above for some insights into this lovely kind of play from our community and our field trip. The cultural traditions of different homes are a great discussion to have. Shoes OFF… right?

*We notice spring signs.
Parents wrote Haiku for us.
Cards and candles - shhh!*

Last week in the studio and beyond, fresh breezes and flowers sparked inspiration.

We looked at Montessori ‘active learning’ in workshops and prompted a poetry-in-nature challenge for the parents. This builds on sharing creative writing resources.

The children decorated gifts, reflecting on what fun they have with their mums and what’s so special about each of them in Mother’s Day cards. This builds on work exploring our families.

Continuing our series mapping out all the kinds of play there are, we are today evaluating ‘rough-housing’ (aka ‘horseplay’, ‘wrestling’, ‘tussling’…)!

What we mean by this and why it’s a powerful form of play:
🤼Being able to gauge relative strength and boundaries is a thrilling physical and mental challenge. There’s give-and-take. This is learning about consent and this enhances nonverbal communication skills.

🤼 Getting up-close and seeing friends and family (and the room) from different angles and perspectives can be such silly, giggly fun that fosters bonding.

🤼 The heart racing and the mind thinking strategically in wrestling and rolling-around games add to the great energy-burn. This is a way to release tension because positive contact decreases stress hormones and boosts the immune system along the way.

And just to be clear, what it’s NOT(!):
❌Fighting. In no way condoning battering, angry hurting, vengeful or dangerous physical confrontation here.

❌Power OVER someone. This is about “inner power” i.e. the capacity to control impulses and regulate the self, rather than physical superiority.

❌Aggression. Again, forcefulness can be a positive thing to explore, particularly for children who don’t seem to access other outlets for aggression. Supervision is required.

✔️Blending mushrooms ✔️ Unicorn costumes …is there really any other way to make brownies?!

New year, new chapters… Starting at a nursery or school or workplace cones with the opportunity for making friends. It takes a mixture of courage and confidence, finding common ground, and chances to connect.

👋 Playhood’s recent nationwide survey discovered that more than three-quarters of parents count their child’s educational setting as *key* to their own valued friendships. Local in-person community and routine are key to thriving (OnDevice Research, 2023).

🤓Studies have found that most of our judgement of others comes down to signalling two key traits: warmth and competence. Meeting new people involves subconscious scanning for clues they’re *open* and *reliable* (Cuddy, Fiske et al, 2018).

🫶In addition, research shows that countering loneliness is more about meaningful interaction than ‘frequency of contact’. What matters for wellbeing is authentic connection (Hyland et al, 2019).

☕We decided to do a little social experiment last month and equip all our members (parents and children alike!) with little vouchers for coffee- or play-dates. Lowering the barrier to make a bid for connection sparked some fun conversations and quality time together.

Any other tactics for accelerating community connection we can learn from?

🧮 Quality, fun, magical, enriching care and education for children + co-working community for adults. It’s our simple equation for everyday city life.

🏝️ BUT what about *holidays* you ask? What if we want to travel? And what if we need to get some work done, while hoping the kids have a fun and meaningful experience on the trip too?! Don’t other families want this too?!

🦎 The amazing has completely reinvented the ‘kids club’ for contemporary families who won’t compromise. While parents enjoy working remotely, their children enjoy immersion in local culture and nature, making friends and playing in paradise. A Montessori philosophy and (rain)Forest School approach made last summer’s new programme a uniquely enriching adventure for all.

😄 We are delighted to be providing advice from our experiences building an engaged community of parents and educators who don’t force apart their professional lives from their identity as parents, to the in nomadic remote-working trips. This summer, bigger and better, two 3-week sessions are now on offer (you can book now for 30.6-21.7 and/or 21.7-11.8). Link in bio!

How have both the meaning of the word ‘family’ and the cultural understanding of the family unit evolved over time? What do we mean by family today - and expect of them?

This month’s blog post explores bonds of kinship. Find out what we all have to learn from the natural world’s *best* community-builder… lichen! Link in bio👆