Playborhood

Mike Lanza is a Silicon Valley entrepreneur with whom I identified, not because his professional career but his devotion to his children and family. Like me, and many parents, Mike was concerned by the few opportunities children have to freely play this days. 

Mike's story came to me after reading an article in the New York Times by Melanie Thernstrom. The story was interesting but had a feeling of critique that I couldn't understand. Mike is not a play expert but a father who is not sitting in his couch whining and waiting for the government to fix his problem, he honestly is trying to provide a safe and fun environment for his kids to play. It was a relief to read play experts like Tim Gill, Peter Gray or  Lenore Skenazy, appreciate what Lanza is doing. 

But Mike didn't stop at doing something for his kids, he wrote Playbordhood. He researched about other initiatives all over the US of people acting and not just complaining. People of different socioeconomic backgrounds, in different setting, with different approaches. His book is not only a collection of stories but a guide for those who want to do something; from selecting the right neighborhood, to creating attractions for kids, to building a community, and more. He lays out a plan on how to create a playborhood. He is not naive in pretending that this is a magic potion that will fix the problem, kids outgrow the attractions, there is fierce competition from electronics, other parents have their own fears and preferences, etc. His message can be summarized as don't give up and keep trying. 

"My approach has been to stay the course as long as the positive response outnumber positive responses outnumber the negative ones. When I do get a specific negative reaction, I try to accommodate whatever complaint the neighbor might have."

Some of the critiques to Mike's solution are that he is an affluent Silicon Valley entrepreneur and thus he can spend lots of money on his playground. Mike challenges this idea not only by recognizing other initiatives with fewer resources but invites people to put their money in their priorities.

"I hope readers of this book will re-evaluate the relative budgets for the inside and outside of their homes. When weather is OK, a great yard is far more important to kids than the inside of the house. Moreover, even in bad weather months, kids don't appreciate expensive decor at all..... Having a great home entertainment system inside the house is attractive for them, but they will benefit far more from a great yard"

One of the key concepts of Playborhood is they are right were children live. Other alternatives like playgrounds and city parks are places where kids can't go on their own at the time they please. Going to those places become a planned activity. People come from different locations making it hard to create a culture of play and a community. Playborhoods have their issues, Mike may have done things differently from suggested by experts but the big picture is that this is an idea to stimulate others to act and improve.

Monica and me visiting Mike's playborhood