The Play Secret Every Busy Parent Needs to Hear

Ready to transform your playtime with your kids without adding a single minute to your day? This game-changing episode introduces the revolutionary concept of the "play burst" – a productivity-inspired approach to parent-child connection that proves five focused minutes can mean more than an hour of distracted effort.

As parents, we're constantly juggling responsibilities while battling the guilt that we're not spending enough quality time with our children. But what if the solution isn't more time, but more presence? Drawing from productivity principles like the Pomodoro technique, I break down how short, intensely focused play sessions create deeper connections and support crucial developmental milestones in ways that longer, distracted interactions simply cannot.

Through practical examples that work for all age groups – from preschoolers building block towers to tweens drawing monster contests – you'll discover how easy it is to implement play bursts in your daily routine. These intentional micro-moments not only make your child feel valued and seen but also model focus and attention skills they'll carry with them throughout life. Plus, they often spark independent play afterward, creating a win-win for busy parents and developing minds.

The research is clear: children don't remember how long we played with them, but they remember how present we were when we did. By setting clear expectations, turning off distractions, and fully engaging for just five minutes, you can transform your child's experience and release the parental guilt that comes from thinking you never have enough time. Ready to rewrite your family's play script? Your child's development (and your peace of mind) will thank you.

Try implementing one play burst daily this week and share your experience with our community. Follow along on Instagram or Facebook at Playroom Chronicles for more practical parenting tools, or visit my website for free resources that bring playfulness back into your day without the overwhelm.

Instagram: PlayroomChronicles

Facebook: PlayroomChronicles

Website: PlayroomChronicles.com

Episode Transcript

Charlene (00:00):
Do you ever wish you had more time to play with your
kids?
But what if I told you youdon't need more time, you just
need more presence.
Welcome to the PlayroomChronicles podcast, where toys
spark imagination, learning andindependent play.
I'm Sharlee Deloach, a toy andplay expert, but a mom just like
you, navigating building blocks, puzzle pieces and snack crumbs

(00:23):
every day, ever wondered whichtoy will actually get played
with, or how do I keep my childengaged without a screen?
You're in the right place.
From ready-day rescues toskill-building superstars, this
is your go-to for honest toyrecommendations, real talk and
play ideas that work, ready toturn chaos into creativity.
One toy at a time, then.

(00:44):
Welcome to the PlayroomChronicles podcast.
Let me ask you something.
Have you ever spent an entirehour with your child but felt
like you weren't really there?
Maybe you were sitting besidethem building a Lego tower or
playing dolls, but mentally youwere checking your inbox,

(01:05):
planning dinner or wondering ifthe laundry ever made it to the
dryer.
You were there, but not present.
Now flip that.
Have you ever had just fiveminutes, like you're about to
jump on a call or stir the pastaon the stove, but you actually
sat down and gave your childyour full attention, and played

(01:26):
one round of Uno or put a coupleof pieces of the puzzle
together with them, and itsomehow felt like enough, like
you had more fun, and so didthey.
Well, guess what?
That wasn't a fluke.
That's the power of focusedenergy, and today I want to tell
you why five minutes ofintentional play presence with

(01:47):
your child can mean more than anhour of distracted effort, and
how you can start showing up insmall, meaningful play ways that
can leave a big play impact.
Now there's this popularproductivity principle that says
five minutes of focused energyis more powerful than hours of

(02:09):
scattered effort.
High management strategies likethe Pomodoro technique and time
blocking are built around thisconcept.
You work in short, focusedbursts, no multitasking, no
bouncing between tabs or tasks,and it actually trains your
brain to get more done in lesstime.

(02:29):
So here's the twist in thisepisode.
What if we took that sameapproach and applied it to
playtime with our kids?
Because, as much as we wish wehad unlimited time to play, most
of us are juggling full plateswork, house, dinner, life but
what if the goal wasn't moreplay time but just more play

(02:52):
presence?
So let me introduce you to thisidea of a play first.
Now you can call it whateveryou want and you can pick
whatever length of time that youwant, but you definitely should
call it something so the wholefamily knows what it is, what
the expectation is and what thattime limitation is.
But for this episode, we'regoing to call it the play burst,

(03:13):
and these play bursts are short, focused bursts of intentional
play with your child for justfive minutes and you tune in.
Completely.
No background noise, nomultitasking, just playful
connection on purpose with yourchild.
And when you show up for a playburst, fully present, even for

(03:33):
the short period of time, you'renow signaling to your child you
know what.
I'm here, I'm all in and I'mhere to play.
And it's not just good fortheir mood, it's actually good
for their development too.
And it's not just good fortheir mood.
It's actually good for theirdevelopment too, because focused
play supports everything fromlanguage skills to learning how
to manage emotions.
Simply put, even just a fewminutes of real play can do a

(03:55):
lot for your child.
They feel important and theirbrain is learning skills like
how to take turns, handle bigfeelings and learning how to
focus through play.
And so let me paint you a fewpictures of how this would
actually look like.
So you're in the middle of ahectic afternoon and your child
says hey, will you play with me?
And you're like gosh, I do nothave time with this.

(04:19):
You're like I have so manythings to do, I don't have time
to play.
So you might say okay, you knowwhat, maybe later and sometimes
later never comes.
Instead, what if you said youknow what, we'll do a play burst
.
I have five minutes before mynext blah blah, blah, blah.
Let's do one round of go fish,just you and me.
Right, it changes everything.
Or let's look at anotherexample You're trying to cook

(04:42):
dinner and your preschooler is,you know, clinging to your leg
and you know, normally you mightbe like you know what, here's
the iPad, or go watch a show.
But instead what if you saidyou know what, let's do a play
burst, let's build the tallesttower we can with your blocks
for just five minutes, and afterthe five minutes is over, we
get to knock it all down.
And then you actually do thatand after that five minutes,

(05:03):
they either come and starthelping you with the dinner or,
more often than not, you justprompted play and they'll
continue to play happily withtheir blocks while you finish
getting dinner ready for thefamily.
Alternatively, if you have ateen or tween, this can work
with them too.
Just imagine they come homefrom school.
They're clearly in a mood right, they're grumbling and whatever
, maybe a little closed off.

(05:23):
But instead of trying to prythem open with questions usually
the guarantee they will closedown even more right.
Instead, you toss them achallenge.
You're like we're going to do aplay burst.
What we're going to do is youget a piece of paper, I get a
piece of paper, we're going tosit down at the kitchen table
and we're going to draw theweirdest possible monster we can
in five minutes.
No rules, just go, and itdoesn't have to be long.

(05:46):
You don't have to have theselengthy conversations.
What you're doing is you'remaking a connection Because,
let's face it, our kids don'tremember how long we played, but
they do remember how present wewere when we did play with them
.
In fact, think it back to yourown childhood.
Whoever your play partner wasMaybe it was your mom, your dad,

(06:07):
uncle, aunt, grandparents,other play adult right who
basically always rode a bikewith you or tossed a ball in the
backyard.
You don't remember how longthey did it.
You just remember that they diddo it.
And in fact, studies in childdevelopment have shown that even
brief moments of this trueconnection with eye contact and

(06:31):
active listening, have a lastingimpact on a child's development
.
But what they don't benefit fromDistracted attention.
So if we play with them for anhour but actually spend 45
minutes of those halfwayelsewhere, like sneakily
checking our phones, constantlygetting up to start dinner

(06:52):
thinking about that email reply,you know we're actually
modeling something else, notreally great behavior.
But when we give them thoseshort, uninterrupted purposeful
play moments, that's when themagic happens.
And here's something else Iwant you to notice when you
start purposeful play moments,that's when the magic happens.
And here's something else Iwant you to notice when you
start doing these play bursts,this focused, time-blocking
approach based on techniqueslike the Pomodoro Method, you're

(07:14):
not just being present, you'reactually also modeling.
This skill your child canabsorb and carry with them
because they're watching youfocus with attention and over
time they're going to learn howto apply that same kind of focus
to schoolwork and creativeprojects and anything that
requires their attention in thefuture.

(07:37):
And the best part, too oftenafter a play burst, your child
will keep playing on their own,and we've talked about in past
episodes why independent play isso important for their
development.
In this, play burst is oftenone way it starts.
So when that focus burst isover and you do need to go, you
know, fold laundry or jump on aZoom call, they often keep

(08:00):
playing because you help themget started and improve their
overall play time in the process.
So this upcoming week I wantyou to choose one block of time
a day to do a play burst.
Pick a moment when you can hitpause, whether it's first thing
in the morning, right afterschool, shortly before bedtime,
and turn everything else offduring it no phones, no

(08:22):
multitasking and turn everythingelse off during it no phones,
no multitasking, no backgroundscrolling, just you and your
child or children together,focused, doing a short play.
First and again, set theexpectation that this is a short
burst.
Make it fun, you know.
Name it something playful so itbecomes part of your family
rhythm, and just do somethingsimple and fun.
You could do one round of aboard or card game right, like

(08:46):
Uno or Spotted or Guess who.
Or do a five-minute Lego buildchallenge, like can we each
build a dinosaur in five minutes, or a quick draw monster
contest on a piece of paper, ora fast-paced game of balloon
volleyball in the living room,or reading one silly book out
loud using goofy voices.

(09:06):
Or this one I really like isyou do a blindfolded guessing
game with a few toys in a boxand then, most importantly,
release the guilt.
You don't have to play for hoursto be a good parent.
You just need to be present onpurpose for a play burst.
So let's rewrite the playscript.
It's not about playing longer,it's about showing up better,

(09:31):
even for just a few intentionalminutes, because presence always
outweighs performance.
And five focus play minutesthat's parenting gold.
And if this episode resonatedwith you and you're thinking,
yes, this is what I needed tohear today, here's what to do
Share this episode with somebodyelse who might be feeling

(09:52):
pulled in too many parentingdirections right now.
Or follow along on Instagram orFacebook at Playroom Chronicles
so we can continue to supportour parenting journeys together.
Or head to my website and optin to one of my freebies,
because that's where I droppractical tools and toy tips
that can bring some play backinto your day without the

(10:14):
overwhelm.
And remember you don't needmore hours, you just need the
right kind of minutes.
See you next time.