Post by Swiss International Scientific School in Dubai

Nearly half of adults say their lives lack fun, while one in eight can’t remember the last time they had a full day simply to enjoy themselves.* Perhaps that’s not surprising. We live in a culture that celebrates productivity. Our calendars are full, our schedules are packed, and we’re constantly encouraged to do more, achieve more, and optimise our lives. From our performance at work to the quality of our sleep, almost every aspect of modern life can now be measured, tracked, and improved. Somewhere along the way, many of us stopped asking whether something is enjoyable and started asking whether it’s useful. Children haven’t forgotten. For them, play doesn’t need to deliver an outcome. It doesn’t need to improve a skill, build a habit, or justify the time spent doing it. This International Day of Play, our students / Nord Anglia students [adjust as needed] flipped the script, giving their parents something many adults struggle to give themselves: Permission to Play. A simple idea, but one that raises an uncomfortable question: When did we start believing that every moment needs to be productive? *Research commissioned by Dave & Buster’s and conducted by Talker Research.

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