Families are the busiest they've ever been. According to a Pew Research Center report, nearly half of all two-parent families have two partners who work full time, a sharp increase from previous decades. With schedules often bursting at the seams between work, school, appointments, and extracurricular activities, it's no surprise that more than half of all working parents say this balancing act is difficult. And all work and no fun makes for some dull parenting.

现在，每个家庭都是最忙的时候。据皮尤研究中心报道，在双亲家庭中，近半数父母都有全职工作，与前几十年相比，这一数量急剧增加。他们每天都在工作、学校、预约和课外活动间奔走，难怪多半以上有全职工作的父母会说想要取得平衡真是件难事。由于这些家长只有工作而没有乐趣，所以他们的教育方式也很无趣。

 

 

If you never quite know what to do with stuffed animals, or you feel like every stack of construction paper is just another project, all is not lost. You can connect with your kids and find fun doing it. It just takes a little time, and maybe not doing arts and crafts if that stresses you out.

如果你不太了解怎么搞填充动物，或者觉得每一叠建筑图纸只是另一个项目，那就还有一线希望。你可以了解自己的孩子，和他们一起找寻乐趣。这只需要一小会儿，如果压力很大的话，可以不用选择做艺术品或手工艺品。

 

I'm a businesswoman, a wife, and a mom of two boys, and time is at a premium for me. It can feel nearly impossible to fit in frequent, uninterrupted family time, so I've learned to embrace making the most of the time we do have together. It's the best I can do, and it's been proven that there's no better way to bond than through play.

我是位女商人、一位妻子，也是两个男孩儿的妈妈，对我来说，时间非常重要。我几乎不可能经常和家人不受外界的打扰呆在一起。所以，我学着充分利用我们在一起的时间。这是我能做的最大限度，而事实表明，没有什么比和他们一起玩耍更能了解他们的方式了。

 

 

Plato himself said, "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."

柏拉图自己也说，"相比交流一整年，一小时的玩耍更能让你了解一个人。"

 

Play is magical. It really is, and at any age. It's true that children use play as their primary and most productive mode of learning, growth, and understanding of how the world works - and adults don't exactly have that luxury. But cutting loose is still vital for us, if in different ways. For example, playfulness increases creativity, problem solving, memory, ingenuity and invention, all while enhancing social, emotional and communication skills. Plus, it makes us happier and healthier human beings. Whatever age or stage we are at in life, it's important that we make time to feed our very hungry, playful spirits - both individually and as a family.

玩耍非常神奇。无论你年纪多大，这句话都很适用。事实上，玩耍是孩子学习、成长、理解世界如何运作的主要的、最有成效的方式--而成年人却无法奢侈的玩耍。但如果以其他不同的方式，放松对我们仍旧至关重要。例如，玩耍能提高创造力、解决问题的能力、记忆力、独创性和发明性，同时还能增强我们的社交、情感和沟通能力。此外，玩耍还能让我们更快乐、更健康。不管我们现在处于人生的哪个阶段，也不管我们多少岁，利用时间填补自己的玩耍精神还是很重要的--包括独自玩耍以及和家人一起玩耍。

 

 

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