The Joys and Benefits of Roughhousing!
When I was little, my dad would frequently turn all the lights out in the house, take out his false teeth and chase us around our house until we ended up in our rooms with a pillow fight. We would scream and laugh and it always resulted in us losing time and wanting more. This is a type of roughhousing, which is defined as physical, spontaneous, and resulting in happiness and joy for all involved. Pillow fights, wild dance parties, doing an obstacle course, slow motion combat and socks-off games are all type of roughhousing. There are so many benefits to this type of play for the whole family:
- Less screen time
- Physical activity inside or outside
- Interactive time which builds close relations between parents and kids
- Helps kids with their morality such as taking turns, tuning into the feelings of others, recognizing our impact on others and understanding consequences and discipline
- Kids practice the impact and consequences of their actions, such as minor injuries, which tend to occur with roughhousing
- When we allow our children to beat us in roughhousing like obstacle courses, we teach them that bigger and stronger people can hold back for those that are smaller and weaker – this is a skill we want our children to learn so they do not “bully” smaller and/or weaker children
- Risk is an ongoing process of re-evaluation of capacity and safety – when our children own their risk and play, it creates conditions for safety (roughhousing teaches kids how to be safe instead of relying on us to ensure safety)
- It’s free!
In a world when we do not have a lot of time to truly connect as a family, consider having a short pillow fight or wrestle together. There are a lot of wins when it comes to roughhousing as a family.
Becky Morrison is a Nurse Practitioner based out of Calgary who has specialized in mental health for over a decade. She is finally, after years of infertility, a mother of two busy little boys, and doting fur mom of her gentle giant, Stella. She is, and always will be, a strong advocate for mental wellness at all ages.
