The Power of Fun: Benefits for Kids and Adults

Fun. What’s that? Some people know how to have it, and some people don’t. Fun is an important part of life for all people, though, especially for kids. Sometimes people just need to try to have it?

What is fun anyway? Walter Podilchak (2006) defines fun as doing activities with other people in settings where there is some type of social bond. He differentiates this from enjoyment, which has a more self-reflective quality, and leisure, which is about free time and passive activity. Some people like to differentiate between “Type 1” and “Type 2” fun, stating that “Type 1” is fun while doing an activity, while “Type 2” fun is fun that is experienced retrospectively (Cordes, 2014). Kids do not really want or need to know the definition nor types of fun. They just want to have it!

Fun has many positive benefits. Fun releases dopamine, a chemical that leads to positive feelings (Creative Healing, 2021). This chemical counteracts the effects of stress. Fun is thought to improve memory and concentration and promote learning (Rucker, 2016; Tews, Michel, & Noe, 2017). The chemical release of fun can help balance hormones. Fun creates opportunities for bonding and memory making (Creative Healing). This is especially important for relationships.

Playful engagement is a key component of Trust-Based Relational Intervention, or TBRI. Playful engagement is used to diffuse stress, increase felt safety, improve learning, build social skills, nurture attachment, promote desirable behaviors and decrease undesirable behaviors, and more (Nurturing Change, 2021). Playful engagement provides opportunities for kids to be kids, and sometimes, for parents to feel like kids, even while remaining the bigger, stronger, kinder, wiser adults (Circle of Security International, n.d.; North, 2017). Fun and play are good for everybody in the family or social group.

How do kids have fun? Kids can have fun in a variety of ways. According to researchers, dimensions of fun for kids include friends, empowerment, creativity, sports, silliness, competition, family, adventure, relaxation, and rebelliousness (Poris, 2005). Other factors include social interaction, psychological energy, experience of emotions, and the flow state (Tasci & Ko, 2015). What does this tell adults about how to create fun for kids? It suggests that all kids need is the incorporation of one or more “fun” factors. How do adults do this? Invite friends to an activity. Encourage a child to do a hard thing. Provide opportunities to create. Play games. Use growth mindset words. Allow for safe silliness. Possibilities really are endless. Fun is not rocket science so much as it is a release.

Can fun get out of hand? Certainly. There is a place for adults to be adults and make sure that kids are appropriate and safe. There are still more opportunities for adults to facilitate fun for kids and for themselves, however. They just need to try and reap the rewards of playful release.