SHOW NOTES: https://parentforward.com/sacredplayseries-theplayfulparent/

What happens when a parent chooses to be ridiculous on purpose? Something sacred emerges in those unguarded moments of laughter and play.
Through a story about a tension-filled dinner transformed by an impromptu Sound of Music performance, we discover how play creates connection beyond what words could achieve. That moment of shared silliness didn't just lighten the mood—it created a sanctuary where everyone belonged, where even a resistant three-year-old found her way back to joy.
We've been taught that adulthood means productivity and emotional efficiency. Play gets labeled as childish or optional, something we outgrow when "real life" begins. But researchers like Dr. Stuart Brown and Dr. Karen Purvis have discovered something profound: play isn't decorative—it's developmental. "The opposite of play isn't work," Brown notes after decades of study, "it's depression." When play fades, confusion and emotional disconnection take its place.
Even Jesus modeled this playful approach to transformation. His stories about camels squeezing through needle eyes and people with logs protruding from their eyes weren't dry theological points—they were vivid, sometimes absurd windows into the kingdom. What if Jesus told them with the joy of a campfire storyteller, using humor not to entertain but to invite?
This week's spiritual practice is beautifully simple: be silly. Use a funny voice. Make up a secret handshake. Narrate bedtime like a nature documentary. For some of us, this feels harder than it sounds, especially if we were raised where play wasn't safe. But when we meet our children in the absurd, we're communicating something profound: this space is safe, you are free here, joy doesn't need to be earned.
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