Friday, July 5, 2019

Interview with Brian VanDongen and Play to Live with Giveaway!

Today, I have a book for families, caretakers, and simply anyone who would like a fun kick to their life. What do kids do better than anyone else? Play!!! Author Brian VanDongen explains in his interview how this not only relates to kids but adults as well. And what better way to experience everything than by playing together?



Play to Live: 
Life Skills and Joy Through the Natural Talent to Play
by Brian VanDongen
BVDPlays
Release date: April 30, 2019
Self-help/ Inner Child / Creativity 
119 pages

Tour dates: June 17 to July 5, 2019
Content Rating: G



Play To Live: Life Skills and Joy Through The Natural Talent To Play by author Brian VanDongen takes you back to your childhood to remind you about what being a child is all about. Playing! We all have those fond childhood memories of growing up playing with our friends in social settings. Developing social skills and learning how to handle friendships and relationships.

What we didn't realize at the time was that those skills we learned for the building blocks which lay the foundation for the rest of our lives. What are our children learning right now? How are they playing now and what part are we playing in how our children interact with the world around them.

For many children, their idea of play and playing now consists of talking to friends online and playing with electronic devices, staying safe indoors, and not venturing further than their own small safe world which we have created.

Inside Play To Live you'll discover:
  • Understanding what it means to play.
  • Where play has gone and what has changed?
  • How playing inside the box promotes the simplicity of play.
  • Why risky play is not the same as dangerous play. Are we too overprotective?
  • That climbing up the slide is just as important as sliding down.
  • Getting muddy outside and rediscovering nature is imperative.
  • That play is serious business and so much more.
Inside Play To Live: Life Skills and Joy Through The Natural Talent To Play you'll read about case studies and reports followed by tips, tricks, and information to help you. If you would like to rediscover what it means to play, then grab a copy of Play To Live right now!

To follow the tour, please visit Brian VanDongen's page on iRead Book Tours.


INTERVIEW


This blog is primarily for books for children.
Who should read your book?
Moms, dads, caregivers, teachers, parks and recreation professionals,
librarians, and anyone who wants to live a more playful life and help
their children learn life skills through play should read this book. This is a
perfect place to talk about my book, since all those people are coming to
check out book recommendations for children. They obviously care about kids, so
they should care about play!


You mention that children gain life skills through play.
What are those skills?
The benefits of play are endless. But, to name a few, children gain physical
literacy skills, emotional skills, social skills, and cognitive skills. Free play is
such an important part of a child’s development.


How can people make sure their child gets those benefits of play?
Well, that’s what my book is all about! There’s tons of helpful stories
and ideas on how to incorporate play into daily life. But a key thing I think is
to realize that play does not need to be - and should not be - formalized
programming all the time. Youth sports have a role, and other programs
have a role, but just free play - play for the sake of play - is important, maybe
even more so than specific programming.


In your book, you tell a story about play from your childhood.
Do you think your experiences as a child match children’s today?
Unfortunately, I do not. I think children are sometimes too scheduled. I
think some adults treat children like little adults with too much testing, too
much scheduling, and too much sit down time. Kids need to be active,
explore the area around them, work out minor conflicts amongst
themselves. I think there is a shift in the right direction in the play movement,
I think the message is getting out there about the benefits of free play.
And I hope my book can help people live more playfully.


Is your book just for adults caring for children?
Or are there tips for adults for their own playful lifestyle too?

We’re never too old to play! One of my favorite quotes about play is
from George Bernard Shaw: “We don’t stop playing because we grow
old, we grow old because we stop playing.” We all have the natural
talent to play. Sometimes it just takes a little hunting to find, especially
as adults. I hope adults can apply the tips to their lives too and live more playfully!


And here he is...


Brian is a life-long "parks and rec kid." Now, he is a parks and recreation professional.

Brian has created, designed, and implemented transformational recreational programming for thousands of residents. ​ Through his work as a park and recreation professional, Brian helps people play and find their natural talent to play.

He believes everyone has that talent, but it is sometimes hard to find or even suppressed in today's society. ​ Fortunately, play at its most basic level is easy, fun, healthy, and desirable. That playful talent just needs to be unleashed.

Brian has helped thousands of people find their natural talent to play and become happier and healthier people through the power of play.

Connect with the author: Website ~  Facebook ~  Twitter ~ Instagram

Enter the Giveaway!
Ends July 13, 2019


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