Playroom Chronicles Podcast
Where parents come to rethink play, and rediscover toy joy by learning to Think Outside The Toy Box® and Play Like It's 1979™.
Playroom Chronicles Podcast
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
Do you ever wish you had more time to play with your kids? But what if I told you you don't need more time, you just need more presence. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast, where toys spark imagination, learning and independent play. I'm Sharlee Deloach, a toy and play expert, but a mom just like you, navigating building blocks, puzzle pieces and snack crumbs every day, ever wondered which toy will actually get played with, or how do I keep my child engaged without a screen? You're in the right place. From ready-day rescues to skill-building superstars, this is your go-to for honest toy recommendations, real talk and play ideas that work, ready to turn chaos into creativity. One toy at a time, then. Welcome to the Playroom Chronicles podcast. Let me ask you something. Have you ever spent an entire hour with your child but felt like you weren't really there? Maybe you were sitting beside them building a Lego tower or playing dolls, but mentally you were checking your inbox, planning dinner or wondering if the laundry ever made it to the dryer. You were there, but not present. Now flip that. Have you ever had just five minutes, like you're about to jump on a call or stir the pasta on the stove, but you actually sat down and gave your child your full attention, and played one round of Uno or put a couple of pieces of the puzzle together with them, and it somehow felt like enough, like you had more fun, and so did they. Well, guess what? That wasn't a fluke. That's the power of focused energy, and today I want to tell you why five minutes of intentional play presence with your child can mean more than an hour of distracted effort, and how you can start showing up in small, meaningful play ways that can leave a big play impact. Now there's this popular productivity principle that says five minutes of focused energy is more powerful than hours of scattered effort. High management strategies like the Pomodoro technique and time blocking are built around this concept. You work in short, focused bursts, no multitasking, no bouncing between tabs or tasks, and it actually trains your brain to get more done in less time. So here's the twist in this episode. What if we took that same approach and applied it to playtime with our kids? Because, as much as we wish we had unlimited time to play, most of us are juggling full plates work, house, dinner, life but what if the goal wasn't more play time but just more play presence? So let me introduce you to this idea of a play first. Now you can call it whatever you want and you can pick whatever length of time that you want, but you definitely should call it something so the whole family knows what it is, what the expectation is and what that time limitation is.
Charlene:But for this episode, we're going to call it the play burst, and these play bursts are short, focused bursts of intentional play with your child for just five minutes and you tune in. Completely. No background noise, no multitasking, just playful connection on purpose with your child. And when you show up for a play burst, fully present, even for the short period of time, you're now signaling to your child you know what. I'm here, I'm all in and I'm here to play. And it's not just good for their mood, it's actually good for their development too. And it's not just good for their mood. It's actually good for their development too, because focused play supports everything from language skills to learning how to manage emotions. Simply put, even just a few minutes of real play can do a lot for your child. They feel important and their brain is learning skills like how to take turns, handle big feelings and learning how to focus through play. And so let me paint you a few pictures of how this would actually look like.
Charlene:So you're in the middle of a hectic afternoon and your child says hey, will you play with me? And you're like gosh, I do not have time with this. You're like I have so many things to do, I don't have time to play. So you might say okay, you know what, maybe later and sometimes later never comes. Instead, what if you said you know what, we'll do a play burst. I have five minutes before my next 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 another example You're trying to cook dinner and your preschooler is, you know, clinging to your leg and you know, normally you might be like you know what, here's the iPad, or go watch a show. But instead what if you said you know what, let's do a play burst, let's build the tallest tower we can with your blocks for just five minutes, and after the five minutes is over, we get to knock it all down. And then you actually do that and after that five minutes, they either come and start helping you with the dinner or, more often than not, you just prompted play and they'll continue to play happily with their blocks while you finish getting dinner ready for the family.
Charlene:Alternatively, if you have a teen or tween, this can work with them too. Just imagine they come home from school. They're clearly in a mood right, they're grumbling and whatever, maybe a little closed off. But instead of trying to pry them open with questions usually the guarantee they will close down even more right. Instead, you toss them a challenge. You're like we're going to do a play burst. What we're going to do is you get a piece of paper, I get a piece of paper, we're going to sit down at the kitchen table and we're going to draw the weirdest possible monster we can in five minutes. No rules, just go, and it doesn't have to be long. You don't have to have these lengthy conversations. What you're doing is you're making a connection Because, let's face it, our kids don't remember how long we played, but they do remember how present we were when we did play with them.
Charlene:In fact, think it back to your own childhood. Whoever your play partner was Maybe it was your mom, your dad, uncle, aunt, grandparents, other play adult right who basically always rode a bike with you or tossed a ball in the backyard. You don't remember how long they did it. You just remember that they did do it. And in fact, studies in child development have shown that even brief moments of this true connection with eye contact and active listening, have a lasting impact on a child's development.
Charlene:But what they don't benefit from Distracted attention. So if we play with them for an hour but actually spend 45 minutes of those halfway elsewhere, like sneakily checking our phones, constantly getting up to start dinner thinking about that email reply, you know we're actually modeling something else, not really great behavior. But when we give them those short, uninterrupted purposeful play moments, that's when the magic happens. And here's something else I want you to notice when you start purposeful play moments, that's when the magic happens. And here's something else I want you to notice when you start doing these play bursts, this focused, time-blocking approach based on techniques like the Pomodoro Method, you're not just being present, you're actually also modeling. This skill your child can absorb and carry with them because they're watching you focus with attention and over time they're going to learn how to apply that same kind of focus to schoolwork and creative projects and anything that requires their attention in the future.
Charlene:And the best part, too often after a play burst, your child will keep playing on their own, and we've talked about in past episodes why independent play is so important for their development. In this, play burst is often one way it starts. So when that focus burst is over and you do need to go, you know, fold laundry or jump on a Zoom call, they often keep playing because you help them get started and improve their overall play time in the process. So this upcoming week I want you to choose one block of time a day to do a play burst. Pick a moment when you can hit pause, whether it's first thing in the morning, right after school, shortly before bedtime, and turn everything else off during it no phones, no multitasking and turn everything else off during it no phones, no multitasking, no background scrolling, just you and your child or children together, focused, doing a short play.
Charlene:First and again, set the expectation that this is a short burst. Make it fun, you know. Name it something playful so it becomes part of your family rhythm, and just do something simple and fun. You could do one round of a board or card game right, like Uno or Spotted or Guess who. Or do a five-minute Lego build challenge, like can we each build a dinosaur in five minutes, or a quick draw monster contest on a piece of paper, or a fast-paced game of balloon volleyball in the living room, or reading one silly book out loud using goofy voices. Or this one I really like is you do a blindfolded guessing game with a few toys in a box and then, most importantly, release the guilt.
Charlene:You don't have to play for hours to be a good parent. You just need to be present on purpose for a play burst. So let's rewrite the play script. It's not about playing longer, it's about showing up better, even for just a few intentional minutes, because presence always outweighs performance. And five focus play minutes that's parenting gold. And if this episode resonated with you and you're thinking, yes, this is what I needed to hear today, here's what to do Share this episode with somebody else who might be feeling pulled in too many parenting directions right now. Or follow along on Instagram or Facebook at Playroom Chronicles so we can continue to support our parenting journeys together. Or head to my website and opt in to one of my freebies, because that's where I drop practical tools and toy tips that can bring some play back into your day without the overwhelm. And remember you don't need more hours, you just need the right kind of minutes. See you next time.
