Did you know that a playground for elephants needs water, plants, and rhino playmates? Or that ‘Frogtown,’ the Kermit-friendly analog, needs a rainforest canopy to enable sound sleep and protection for eggs? At least, that was the case during an empathy exercise at Ashoka’s “Bring Your Child to Work Day”.
Even at a young age, children understand the multiple facets of wellbeing: safety and physical fitness, but also emotional attachment. As caregivers for the imaginary animals that populated their cardboard playgrounds, our children wanted a culture of health. As a father to three little girls, I want that same thing.
But in the United States, we don’t often operate from a mindset of wellbeing—or rather, we’re preoccupied with a very limited definition of wellbeing. The individuals, communities, and societies that surround us tend to view wellbeing as only material or physical wellness. Is that playground really safe? How many children are visiting the hospital every year? How many are living outside of homes? This approach to wellbeing creates structures which are reactionary, deficit-oriented, and focused on reducing the negative effects of physical harm. We can do better.
[For more of this story, written by Tim Scheu, go to http://www.rwjf.org/en/culture...shoka_is_invest.html]
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