Monthly Archives: July 2012

July 10, 2012

Unstructured Play

I came across this article today by The Centre for Independent Studies about unstructured play. It really got me thinking. So often I feel that if activities aren’t planned (even if it’s just some simple craft or baking), that I’m failing to ensure Miss Four (yes! she has had a birthday!) is getting the most out of her childhood. The article says that:

“Unfortunately, most children in Australia no longer experience … freedom. Their time is so strictly regimented between school and structured activities after school that they are losing the art of play. According to a MILO State of Play study in 2011, 45% of children in Australia don’t play every day. Curtin University research claims that in just one generation, outdoor play has decreased from 73% to just 13% of total play time. Such are the time limits on children today that some parents are structuring in time for unstructured play!”

What’s your take on this issue? Come chat on our Facebook page about your beliefs on play time and how you do it.

Comments | 0 Comment
July 4, 2012

Why the shout outs?

Tomorrow will be the last day we officially work with Cheeky Tales to bring you a great special. We thought tonight we’d explain why we’ve been giving Cheeky Tales and other businesses out there all the shout outs lately.

Here at MPVW we focussed on our retail side for many years, we loved bringing you great products but found that we had so much more to say on a wider range of issues under the Modern Parents Vintage Ways theme than a simple retail shop allowed. We decided to start expanding how we worked and made the retail part of MPVW just one of the things that we offer. We’re still working on how we can best bring value to all of you out there, but one of the things we really love to do is track down products and businesses that fit within our philosophy and let you know about them. We look for businesses that are small like us, that have similar values to us about kids, the environment, how to do business and, importantly, customer service. Cheeky Tales is one such business and that’s why we’ve been working with them!

If you ever want to know more about why we’re posting about a particular product or business – or have a suggestion about who we could work with or give a shout out to – or even have an idea about something a little different we could write about – please let us know. Our email address is enquiries@mpvw.com.au, and we’re also on Facebook, Twitter, Google + and Pinterest.

Stay tuned to hear more about the Cheeky Tales special tomorrow :-)

Comments | 0 Comment