WHERE ADULTS RECONNECT WITH THEIR INNER CHILD.
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy is a popular old proverb that is true to its core. Here, in this context, our Jack could be a kid or an adult because we are emphasizing play being as important to an adult as it is to a child. In recent times, especially during and after the pandemic, this trend of kidulting has come back into the limelight and is steadily picking up.
Kidulting is a unique term, a combination of kid and adulting. Basically, it involves adults engaging in activities that are typically designed for children. Now, let’s face it like adults — stress, as a matter of fact, has been an inseparable part of our lives, and we need to keep looking for coping mechanisms. Any kind of action, like swinging in a park, playing with toys, or indulging in board games, that one could only imagine doing as a kid could cheer the inner child and recreate childhood experiences.
Kids usually have inquisitiveness and enthusiasm to learn new things and explore new worlds. They accept people and also forgive and forget with ease. As kids, we naturally wish to grow up soon, but once you’re a grown up, there is a deep longing to return to childhood days again. Perhaps, that is the irony of life.
But unlike kids, grownups are often exhausted and overwhelmed with routine chores and responsibilities, and forget to relax and enjoy and accept life as it flows. In the long run, some things even become too heavy to be carried forward.
Hence, reveling in kiddish times once in a while evokes a sense of nostalgia, which can establish a connection between the past and present. This, in turn, is comforting and reassuring as childhood, for the most part, reminds us of our carefree times and a more secure self. Psychologist state that such pursuits can be beneficial for mental health. Kidulting results in a rush of dopamine – the feel-good neurotransmitter — and a reduction in stress, sadness, anger, and anxiety.
Fun activities serve as a therapeutic escape from the demands of adult life, although temporarily. They rekindle the lost curiosity and encourage creativity, imagination, and fantasy. On the whole, kidulting activities t end to bring in some balance in life and promote general well-being. Likewise, some of the western countries have taken kidulting to another level. You can find kidulting zones where they are no rules to be followed, no goals to be achieved, and no information to be taken in, just simple fun with amusing and mindless acts. Like the Dopamine Land in London and Madrid, which is an interactive museum that offers kidults a chance to channel their inner child. “Wondr” in Amsterdam is another such space that lets people “dive into the sea of pink marshmallows” and “write on the walls.”
Generally speaking, childhood is about fun, freedom, and joy. Also, it is a well-known fact that adults who are playful, have spontaneity, and a tendency to joke around have lower stress levels and can manage anxiety more efficiently. The purpose of kidulting is to have aimless enjoyment and excitement over little things that you just love for no reason than pure happiness. Sounds interesting, doesn’t it? Well, that is the main idea of kidulting — to create a transient relaxing and gratifying escapade that could transform into lasting memories.
