Zoe & Georgia on Why Play is So Important

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0:42Hello and welcome to Made by Mamas, the podcast. I'm Zoe Hardman. And I'm Georgia Dayton. And this is your parenting safe space where no conversation is off limits. With five kids between G and I, we have seen a lot. We really have. Each week we'll be joined by some famous faces and experts and we'll chat about the brands and products that have saved us along the way. In short, we're the parenting podcast for you. Before we get started, hit subscribe or follow so you're the first to know when each episode lands. And they're on Tuesdays and Fridays. And it really helps if you leave a rating and a review.

1:15You can also find us on Instagram. We're on at Made by Mamas. But for now, George, should we get into it? Hello and welcome to today's episode of the podcast, very excitingly sponsored by Melissa and Doug. Yeah, aren't we lucky. We're looking forward to today's conversation because Georgia and I wanted to chat around connection and how we feel most, I was going to say attached because it's not attached, but most kind of soul jumpy with our kids. Yeah, and I think sometimes, you know, we talk about being connected to our kids and how you connect and all that kind of stuff. and it's actually quite difficult you know sometimes you know kids are busy they're wrapped up in their schedules you know you sometimes get one word answers from them the typical like how was school today and they go yeah good um it's actually it's not that easy always to find time to really connect I remember recently you were talking about Kit and how you connect with him and what happened to me yeah but then when you have those beautiful moments how much they mean and what you're doing when you have those moments it's been it's been really sad actually because in a way I feel like I haven't been I feel like I'm saying this a lot on the podcast but I haven't necessarily been the most connected mother to him because I have felt like in and around his sport he is so tired so when he comes walks through the door bearing in mind he goes to clubs seven days a week and plays games across the weekend all he wants to do is sit in front of the telly and I let him because he's exhausted and then I was saying to Dozzy the other night I was like when do I actually really do anything else do anything with him like when do I do any drawing when do we paint when do we do sticker books when do we do these amazing water wow um booklets like when do we do any of these things and we just weren't and so we really have made a conscious effort in the last month since we got back into the school routine to just prioritize some time where he feels like he's got us and I've actually got my boy yeah you know yeah and he comes alive he's not just lying there staring at bloody whatever it is on the telly yeah he's actually engaged yeah I know and I think we you know we have this conversation a lot don't we about screens and you know the importance of having time away from the screens and it's not just about you know because it's better for their brains or whatever it's actually because when they're not on screens you know like for instance like we're sitting at the table doing some stickers yeah um we actually talk yeah and you can do two things at once you can be doing the stickers and their brains are still engaged but we could still have a conversation you might get more from them than how was your day yeah it was good they then start to talk to you about stuff as things go on I don't know like I I've really noticed it as well I think with Gigi she loves like role play she loves being in her own world she doesn't always necessarily want me to be involved with that you know sometimes she will and we'll play hairdressers or beauty salons or whatever it is and we can you know get into it but it is usually when we're sat at the table like coloring in doing stickers that sort of thing it's like it's calm yeah that we actually have conversations I know yeah it's amazing isn't it and and of course it makes total sense but how many of us listening to this podcast and by the way we're not here to kind of shame anybody or highlight what we're not doing it's more of a realization that if even in one in a 50 times I can change you know I can make a difference or I can change a behavior pattern that has become insidious in the house I can turn around to Kit and say do you know what don't pop the telly on why don't we sit here and do some coloring in or yeah why don't we sit here and like you said do some stickers what can come from that exactly no yeah no it's so true and also like skills it sounds might sound silly but skills you didn't know that you had to show them like we got we're working with Mr.

5:07and Doug and we were sent a build playhouse so it's essentially got it's like a toolbox yeah it's got screwdriver and all that kind of stuff would i have bought that for gg no i don't think if we were in a shop she would definitely have gone for something else how amazing has it been hugely like she's sat there hammering and doing you know and we're learning how to use a screwdriver together i mean obviously i can do those things but she's never seen me do those things and it was it was one of those things where it just clicks and you're like wow she really needs to know how to do this stuff yeah because educational as well as being fun but also it's like confidence is that she's seen it she knows what screwdriver is she knows what a hammer is she later in life she won't think oh what is that she'll know what it does it's you think that those things are so small but actually they're not and then we have conversations you know we're about to do a house renovation hopefully there's builders next door to us at the moment she can then like be like oh so this is kind of what they're doing isn't it and I'm like yeah absolutely look they're building an extra room in that house actually and you have these bigger conversations of yeah you know like that is a job that like this is what they're doing in a play setting but that's actually their job and it's really fun yeah like look they actually building a proper room and that family who live in that house are going to be in that room in about six months time and it's going to look like she's been watching it go up but had we not have had that play set I don't think she would have I don't think we'd have had the conversation I think she'd just been like oh they're really loud that's it yeah but we've had those it's sparked conversations and then if you go deeper you're like oh wow like that's a career path you reckon she'll see the builders now and be like oh that guy's got a double decker I've seen that is that what they're called the old double decker screwdrivers oh where's your hammer and also aside from that which I think is a really beautiful point about the role play side of things which You probably do a lot more when the kids are younger.

7:10You know when you're at home with them for hours and hours and hours on the island and you're like, oh, yeah, let's play, I don't know, shops, which, by the way, was one of my favourite things. Yeah, I'm into those ones. The ones that are real life, I'm into. Yeah, yeah, because you've always wanted to be a shopkeeper. Well, yeah, a shopkeeper, ice cream person, someone who works in a cab, any of those I can do. When it's like being alien, I'm like, tap out. No, no, no. No, I can't do this. That's Walker Mindy, isn't it? the creativity comes but also the silliness comes and like it gets serious as they get older because as the mothers we are the ones that tend to be like have you brushed your teeth have you put your shoes on have you got your tie have you got this and then for that for us to see them being silly and for us to be silly that's what I miss yeah it's just kind of letting my hair down a bit and being like oh sod doing that let's just do this and let's just be like silly animals for a couple of hours and it's really fun yeah i know and actually we've been speaking about this a lot recently you look back at those days when you know you were trying to entertain them constantly and now we're actually looking the opposite we're trying to find time to carve that back in like that oh god i really hate it i really hate it what's going on with us we're turning to absolute it's just i know but it is that whole thing it's like oh it makes me feel sick like even just saying it when I'm like say to people who've got younger kids oh my god please enjoy it please enjoy it we did enjoy it though George I know yeah we did yeah we did we did but I think when you're coming out of it you look back and you look at people who are doing it right now and you're like oh my god please don't like please just play for longer please just sit down and do that with them please please please because it does go really fast and then all of a sudden you know you're walking along to school and they're dropping your hand and you know all of that it's my taxi driver says to me this morning he went how old do your kids love no no 13 10 and 8 and he goes well I've got 42 and 40 he goes they're still calling me every day what they're calling me for I said don't know he goes money he goes so you're worried about your kids not speaking to your kids don't worry they'll be calling you all the time we're not getting rid of them just no but in all seriousness it does it does go really fast yeah you know anyone listening to this if you have got you know younger kids I feel like we're like ancient now but we're not it's just do like do do do take those little moments and do try and tap into the role play and do try and like do those things yeah and also you know daughter and I've obviously been through the period where we've just bought all the tat yes and you know that's why we're thrilled to be working with a brand like melissa and doug because we actually know the products love the products believe in them and they last they last through they look aesthetically gorgeous they promote creativity our kids have really enjoyed using them over the years and you can pass them on and you can pass them on one of the best birthday presents my mum bought for axel was she bought him a rail and she bought melissa and doug dressing up clothes and she hung up i think it was like five different costumes some of them would have been secondhand and some of them she would know she would have bought from a retailer and that was his present it wasn't wrapped it was up that rail oh yeah like i don't know how many hours came from that and also just like confidence came from that different you know playing different things kids coming around all dressing up and now i passed that onto his nursery not his nursery actually it was Gigi's nursery about six months ago and now I just think oh it's really nice because all those kids are going to have that they're going to be the firefighter they're going to be the dentist they're going to be you know all of these different roles it's lovely George yeah and listen if we're feeling sad as we get older at least we can just sit here on this podcast and be really nostalgic and reminisce I know so George and I are going to be doing some gift guides over the next couple of months because of course Christmas coming so even Even if you haven't got kids of the appropriate age for these toys, I'm sure you'll know somebody who you can gift to.

11:14So definitely check out Made by Mamas for all those gift guides. And also, yeah, you can head to Melissa and Doug's website. The full range is on there. And there really is something for every child. Yeah. And if you do find yourself getting in the dress ups, then do send us a selfie because we're always up for a giggle. Thank you so much for listening to today's podcast brought to you by Melissa and Doug.

11:411965, London. The world's largest uncut diamond has been stolen from the Natural History Museum. Shortly after, a young London window cleaner is arrested. They said you're nicked, you're in a lot of trouble. But was he set up? Wanted I have fled to fall of two cops. His family say? He is guilty, but of a totally different crime. You don't want to end up going to prison, do you, kid? I'm Josie Long and this is Rough Diamond. Listen now wherever you get your podcasts.