By Casey Neill
A father of two and former teacher is helping parents to connect with their kids through play.
Dale Sidebottom forged a career in the play space after yearning for a way to improve his days as a substitute teacher in London.
“You rock up and it’s just like a zoo,” he laughed.
Tired of students disregarding his authority, he decided to try winning them over with play.
So Dale would start the day with an ‘ice-breaker’ activity and roll from there.
He saw a complete turnaround in student behaviour. Kids were asking his name and actually paying attention to what he had to say.
They begged him for more games, so he’d promise to deliver one after lunch if they completed the assigned classwork, and another to round off the day.
“I built a connection with these kids instead of just telling them what to do,” he said.
Dale felt like he was onto something, and so did his colleagues.
They asked him to help them out with play ideas, inspiring him to create mobile app ClassBreak.
Filled with ideas for breaking up days in the classroom, it spent time as the number one app in Australia.
Dale’s online presence grew, attracting attention from international schools in particular.
Soon he was teaching in Australia during the week and flying to Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Singapore on the weekends.
“About nine years ago, I told my parents I was going to quit teaching and play games,” he said.
“To be honest, it was very hard work for a long time, particularly in Australia.
“People thought it was airy-fairy.”
Landing a coveted TED Talk helped to change their minds.
Today, he’s based in bayside Chelsea with his wife and two preschool-aged sons, and is an internationally recognised play consultant and founder of The School of Play, Energetic Education, and Jugar Life.
“Play is a thing now, but still not on the scale we’re doing it,” he said.
“We pioneered something that’s never been done.
“We’re doing a gig nearly every day of the year now, speaking at conferences all around the world.”
Dale’s latest project is 365 Days of Play, a book designed to facilitate games and fun.
“Play doesn’t mean you need to set aside an hour at a time,” he said.
“Take 10 minutes, do one thing with them.
“People don’t know where to start.
“So, for every day, there’s a story about a place, person, country, or event.
“That relates to a play-based challenge you can do as a family.”
Dale explained that what constituted play ran the gamut, from LEGO and colouring to cooking and puzzles.
“I think one of the big misconceptions with play is you have to go outside and kick a ball,” he said.
“There’s so many ways you can play.
“How I look at play is you’re doing something and you’re present.
“That’s why play is incredible. It allows each individual to bring you their own unique style and talents in ways they like.”
If you feel like you’re struggling to incorporate play into your day, you’re not alone – even Dale has been there.
“I thought I would have found parenting easier because of what I do,” he said.
“I’ve actually found it harder.
“My wife’s actually been better at it than what I have.
“I felt like I was failing for so long with the things that I was doing. I felt like I wasn’t good at being a dad.
“The things I want to do, they don’t want to. I’m a control freak in certain ways. That doesn’t work.
“The boys…they’ve been very grounding for me.
“I’ve had to be really creative and be intentional.
“I’ve completely changed as a person because of my kids, and it’s been in a good way.
“The one thing I need to have at the top of my list is to spend time with my boys and make them feel valued.
“That little shift has been huge.”
What about when you land home from work or the school pick up and your kids are demanding your attention while you’re trying to unpack bags and organise dinner?
“What I normally do is get on the front foot,” Dale said.
“I’ll say, ‘I want to build LEGO, do you want to build with me?’”
He’ll ask the boys to set up while he completes a task or two, then returns to play.
“It wasn’t a nagging thing because I was proactive with it,” he said.
“I make it a positive.
“They’re only nagging you because they want your attention and you’re not giving it to them.
“Then you don’t feel guilty about going back to getting dinner ready – you’ve already done something really nice with them.
“I was the one asking.
“That changes the dynamic – and at least I can pick the game I want to play.”
As for screens and play…Dale has some thoughts.
“A lot of parents go on about their kids’ screen time,” he said.
“They see everything we’re doing. They see their parents doing it.
“Unless you’re intentional with it, it will consume you.
“Don’t leave your phone where every time it goes off, it distracts you.”
Along with setting a good example, parents need to be prepared to say no to screen time.
“The kids don’t know what they need, they just know what they want,” Dale said.
“No one’s ever bored anymore. Creativity doesn’t occur.”
He said screens weren’t going anywhere, so we had to learn to better manage their pervasiveness.
