Building resilience and capacity within communities by promoting healthy connection between children and the adults who care for them through play.
Turning tomorrow
We are Built for Relationship.
There exists a deep human need for connection and belonging. The bond between child and caregiver lays the foundation for meeting this requirement and is a cornerstone for building resilient communities driven by healthy, empathic and productive relationships. Lack of affirming connections can cause deficits for children and barriers to success that permeate into the future fabric of society.
Ensuring that young children have secure environments to grow creates a foundation for both their futures and a thriving prosperous society. Neglect can disrupt development and have lifelong consequences.
Experts in neuroscience, child development and attachment research report that when a child feels cared for by a trusted adult, that child will develop capacities necessary for sustaining long-term positive outcomes. Resilience, empathy, self-esteem, emotional regulation, the ability to trust… and be worthy of trust, are life-tools children receive through secure, affirming connections early in life. Later as parents, they will be more apt to prioritize their childrens’ need for connection, and more adept at building healthy relationships in general. Though fundamental to individual health and vitality within society, generations of children suffer from impeded, non-existent or hostile associations with caregivers.
Tools Children Receive from Connection:
Resilience
Emotional regulation
Self-esteem
Less prone to violence
Lower pregnancy rates for girls
Leadership aptitude
Ability to cope with stress
Capacity to trust
Overall happiness and optimism
...He will turn the hearts of the parents toward their children, and turn the hearts of the children toward their parents…
Malachi 4:6
Play Supports Connection and More.
The M4: Foundation leverages play as a platform and catalyst for connection. In addition to the benefits children receive through secure connections, longitudinal studies demonstrate that play itself possesses inherent real world value. Play promotes brain growth, supports academic success with increased graduation rates, fosters creativity and problem-solving skills, helps children cope with stress, and improves wage earnings later in life.
Play Outcomes
Personal connection
academic success
problem solving
brain development
earnings potential
trauma remediation
higher graduation rates
Empathy & conflict resolution
In addition, spending regular time in active play builds strong bones and muscles along with healthy respiratory and circulatory systems in developing children, giving their bodies the ability to fight illness and prevent disease. The preventative benefits of play are particularly relevant within marginalized communities where children are at greater risk. As such, the World Health Organization recommends children spend a minimum of 60 minutes daily in active play.
Play involving physical activity contributes to the prevention of non-communicable diseases (NCDs).
Yet 80% of the world’s youth population is insufficiently physically active.
Note:
The M4: Foundation is in the initial phase of launch.