The Power of Play

Do you remember playing patintero, piko, luksong baka, tumbang preso, 10-20, chinese garter, luto-lutoan, teacher-teacher, doctor-doctor, or dressing up with your mom's (or dad's) clothes to play adult, wrapping the blanket around your body and pretend you were in a gown, walking the red carpet, or maybe even spending the whole day just painting, cutting art paper and gluing stuff on anything you find at home? I know I have done everything and so much more when I was a kid. I'm proud to say that I have a vast imagination that I even crossover to an alter universe for pretend play. It was FUN.

With all these kinds of play though, it's very very sad to see today's kids, we call the "iPad generation." Friends are now being replaced with gadgets, socializing are done in Facebook and exploring happens in Youtube. *sigh* 

Being a new mom, it's very worrying what kind of future my baby will have. I don't want to succumb to the digital generation, although I allow my baby to see Mickey Mouse Club House on TV from time to time, coz hey, who doesn't love Mickey, right? I want my child to enjoy her childhood to the fullest, even if it means I have to hug a sweaty sun-scented muddy child everyday. I want her to experience the innocence and freedom of being a child and not pressure her into becoming an adult. She has a lot of time for that.

I once asked one of my best friends, who has a 9 year old daughter, doesn't she play outside the house with neighbors? And her answer was that she's scared that her daughter might get kidnapped. "You never know. Sometimes, crimes happen even inside the neighborhood. She plays in school with her classmates during P.E. time." And truth be told, I felt a bit sorry because I know for a fact that she doesn't know what she's missing, although I also have to admit she has a point.

I wonder, is there a safe and fun environment I can bring my daughter to when the time comes?

Low and behold, the answer came in the form of an invite from Kidzania Manila.

I've already read about Kidzania in an article before and so I got really excited when the invite came. For those who are not familiar what Kidania is, Kidzana is an interactive edutainment theme park where children from 3 - 14 years old can independently explore a hyper real kid-sized city with over 100 exciting careers. Don't get me wrong though... It's not a summer class nor a boot camp to push children to become career-driven. It's not that at all! It's actually a place where kids can role-play and they have the freedom to choose whether they want to be fireman, doctor, scientist, pilot, and so much more on a given day. Kidzania made sure to design each experience to empower kids, giving them the confidence to be their best selves, and inspiration to be great global citizens.

What I love about the concept of Kidzania is that, while learning different careers, children can interact with other kids and together discover the inner workings of a city and the concept of earning and managing money. From what I know, upon entering, kids will be given "kidzoes" (Kidzania's currency) which they can spend within the mini city. However, if they run out of kidzoes, parents cannot simply buy more currency. The kids have to join an activity, whether they want to operate on a patient as a doctor or simply make burgers to earn more kidzoes. Now, isn't that fun? Each experience is completely hands-on, building kids' independence, self-esteem, financial literacy, teamwork and other valuable life skills, every parent wants for their child.

Here are few snapshots of Kidzania activities from other countries:

During the media forum in Sofitel last Tuesday, child education expert and professor Maricar Gustilo- de Ocampo, Ph.D shared "Role-play is really child's work. They need this opportunity to express themselves by using their feelings and emotions. A child's intuition is also very important in the world of play. They feel the different characters that they want to know about." Dr. Gustilo-de Ocampo even called Kidzania "the dramatic play corner of the 21st century" and I share this opinion.

KidZania Manila Ambassadors with president and CEO of Play Innovations Inc., Maricel Pangilinan-Arenas.

Dr. Maricar Gustilo- de Ocampo, Ph.D.
Child Education Expert and Professor

Now the question is, will my child be safe? Absolutely. No adult can enter without a kid and each child and parent will be given an identical electronic bracelet and no one can retrieve your child from Kidzania but you.

It's just a little frustrating that I have to wait for a few more years before I can bring my daughter there but I'm really excited for her to have her first of many Kidzania experience. How I wish I was a kid again...

Kidzania opens early 2015 at the Bonifacio Global City. 

For more information about Kidzania, visit www.KidZania.com or follow them at Facebook.com/KidZaniaOfficial or on Twitter @KidZania

My tools from KidZania Manila

xoxo

The Clueless Mrs.