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<\/p>\nIf we thought that 2020 was a tough year, 2021 really showed us what tough means. It’s no wonder South Africa\u2019s adults are struggling with stress and mental health challenges, and in turn finding it really difficult to connect with families and friends.<\/p>\n
But, there is light at the end of the tunnel, and it suggests that playtime may not be over for adults.\u00a085% of parents surveyed in the 2020 Lego Play Well Study said that playing helps them relax and unwind, with 80% saying that it helps them feel more creative. Importantly, 78% of South African parents say that playing keeps them away from consuming too much news \u2014 a wonderful distraction when we lose ourselves down multiple social media \u2018rabbit holes\u2019.<\/p>\n
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Also read:<\/strong>\u00a0Lego Launches Friends Apartments Set<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWhile the benefits of playing with your children are clear \u2014 such as connecting with them and entertaining them, adults don\u2019t need to have children to be able to benefit from play,\u201d says Miroslav Riha, country manager for Lego in South Africa. \u201cResearch<\/a> shows that adults that play with toys enjoy enhanced productivity, reduced stress, and even boosts in memory.\u201d<\/p>\n This is by no means an invitation to head out and buy big and expensive toys, like fast cars or motorbikes \u2014 it really is a suggestion to return to the simple things, like sculpting and construction toys, for example. Adults can play by squishing and sculpting play dough, or creating intricate artistic masterpieces, or something a little more structured and meditative, and build a puzzle. There\u2019s also no limit to how adults can play in the kitchen \u2014 think of all the variations of banana bread that were highlighted on social media feeds during 2020, there is also no limit to the imagination when icing biscuits and cupcakes!<\/p>\n Whatever your \u2018toy\u2019 of choice might be, it\u2019s worth keeping the two things that define \u2018play\u2019 in mind: the activity you\u2019re doing must be purely for enjoyment or recreation, and it must be something that\u2019s motivating \u2013 you don\u2019t need to be coerced or bribed into doing it.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re not sure what or how to start playing, then try to cast your mind back to your happiest memories as a child and return to something that was meaningful to you when you were younger. This could be playing a sport, or it could be meticulously following the instructions to build a toy, or it could be using the toys you have to build something never seen before \u2013 even if it\u2019s never to be seen again!<\/p>\n![\"Lego](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/07\/Lego-Treehouse-ideas-300x169.jpg\")
\nAnother way of delving back into your childhood are construction toys such as Lego sets. \u201cWe believe so fervently that adults should play that we\u2019ve designed multiple sets that will strike a chord with adults, whether it\u2019s the nostalgic Lego Creator Expert Friends Apartment or Central Perk sets, Lego Ferrari 488 GTE set, or the Lego Ideas Typewriter,\u201d Riha says. \u201cThese sets do more than provide the benefits of play to adults \u2014 they help improve mood and mental health by reminding us of simpler or happier times in our lives.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Friends](\"\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/05\/lego-friends-apartment_header2-300x193.jpeg\")
\nFor play to be \u2018successful\u2019, we need to be fully and joyfully immersed in it, and while it\u2019s possible to include elements of play into your meetings \u2014 like doodling on a notepad while nobody\u2019s watching \u2014 try to set some time aside each day to live in the moment, and just play!<\/p>\n
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