Rough and Tumble Play for Better Mental Health…

"Can we wrestle?" was one of my boy's favorite

questions growing up to ask my husband. After having

a long day of work, my husband would muster up the

energy to clear the furniture from the living room, get

down on all fours and then the battle would

commence! Both young boys would attack their dad

with the energy of a cheetah, and it would go one of

two ways. Either dad would wrestle and tickle them

into submission, declaring himself the victor, or he

would cry for mercy if his two boys coordinated attack took him down. Either way,

the victorious one(s) would declare their victory for the rest of the evening. Proudly

they would walk with their head held high not knowing that this engagement in

play was also good for their mental health.

What is rough and tumble play? Any high energy activity that engages large

muscle groups and falls under "play fighting": AS LONG AS IT IS SAFE AND FUN

FOR ALL. Chasing, wrestling, pillow fights, slap boxing are all just a few of the ways

to engage in this play and it works wonders on our mental health and emotion

regulation skills.

How do you know the difference between play fighting or rough play and real

fighting? In play fighting, children are laughing and smiling, engaged and excited.

No one gets hurt or is forced to do anything. Once they are done rough playing

with a parent, they can still communicate and play together.