PLAY. We all do it: wordplay, love play, role-play; we play cards, play sport, play the fool, and play around. And that’s just the grown-ups! It features in every aspect of our lives, whether we call it by that or another name. We all do it, but why do we do it? What does it mean to play and what, if any, difference does it make to our lives? Most crucially, and central to the theme of this book, is the question, ‘Does play have a positive impact on our health and wellbeing, and consequently a role in modern healthcare delivery?’ The contributors to this book provide a comprehensive overview of how play and play-based activities can be used throughout the adult lifespan to promote health and wellbeing within the context of healthcare service delivery for patients, their families and communities, and for the staff involved in their care. Responding to current global health concerns such as obesity, coronary heart disease, dementia and mental health, the book argues that play and playfulness offer a means of protection, promotion and recovery of positive health and wellbeing. The human tendency for play and playfulness as essential to personal growth and development lie at the heart of the discussion. This book will be of interest to all those working in health or social care settings, including nursing, social work and allied health students and professionals and those working within the therapeutic disciplines of art therapy, music therapy, and recreation alliances.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BEST SELLER • At last, a book that shows you how to build—design—a life you can thrive in, at any age or stage • “Life has questions. They have answers.” —The New York Times Designers create worlds and solve problems using design thinking. Look around your office or home—at the tablet or smartphone you may be holding or the chair you are sitting in. Everything in our lives was designed by someone. And every design starts with a problem that a designer or team of designers seeks to solve. In this book, Bill Burnett and Dave Evans show us how design thinking can help us create a life that is both meaningful and fulfilling, regardless of who or where we are, what we do or have done for a living, or how young or old we are. The same design thinking responsible for amazing technology, products, and spaces can be used to design and build your career and your life, a life of fulfillment and joy, constantly creative and productive, one that always holds the possibility of surprise.

Childhood and family life have changed significantly in recent decades. What is the nature of these changes? How have they affected the use of time, space, work and play? In what ways have they influenced face-to-face talk and the uses of technology within families and communities? Eminent anthropologist Shirley Brice Heath sets out to find answers to these and similar questions, tracking the lives of 300 black and white working-class families as they reshaped their lives in new locations, occupations and interpersonal alignments over a period of thirty years. From the 1981 recession through the economic instabilities and technological developments of the opening decade of the twenty-first century, Shirley Brice Heath shows how families constantly rearrange their patterns of work, language, play and learning in response to economic pressures. This outstanding study is a must-read for anyone interested in family life, language development and social change.

If you are ready to become more productive, declutter your spaces, and embrace healthy living, you must read this now! Did you know engaging in just one unhealthy behavior can decrease productivity in all areas of life? This easy to use and adaptable guide will show you how you can kick your productivity into high gear -- while Working Well and Playing More! This book is a MUST for anyone looking for clear steps, goals, and habits, but for whom strict rules feel...well too restrictive. "The timing of this book could not be better. With tech addiction and other distractions compromising our quality of life more than ever, Marcey's teachings are refreshingly easy to infuse into a busy lifestyle. Creating boundaries is a powerful first step to self-care, and from closet edits to desktop clean-ups, her process feels cathartic and healing." Angela Jia Kim, founder of Savor Beauty Here's what you'll learn: How to uncomplicate your life in three areas: productivity, clutter, and health How to make step-by-step behavior changes that fit your lifestyle How to use a whiteboard or an app to stay motivated and committed to change How to keep notifications from being a distraction throughout your day- How to process email like a task How to increase focus and get more done How to boost the productivity of meetings How to create healthy boundaries How to declutter your desktop (both virtual and physical) How to organize key spaces in your home How to increase mental clarity by decluttering your brain How to implement simple, healthy eating habits How to make movement a regular part of your life How to create healthier sleep habits- How to practice mindfulness You'll learn all these tricks and more! "This book has given me real-life, simple productivity hacks that I can implement now leading to a positive change in my business and personal life. I cannot wait to share this book with my family, friends, and employees. It's the best book I've read that gives a step by step plan to get better in your area of choice." Michael Clegg - Managing Partner, The Q Works Group The best part is you can approach this book like the menu at your favorite restaurant. The habit changes are sorted by category (productivity, decluttering, and health) and level of difficulty (Novice, Pro, Master). Go ahead! Pick and choose, mix and match, and, above all, do what works for you. Habit change is hard, but I believe in you! Let's go! "Marcey Rader's book will transform your life and help you become a happier and healthier you. Her steps for changes you can make to improve your health, declutter your mind and possessions, and increase your productivity without working longer hours are simple, easy to follow, and can be done over whatever timeframe you want." Mary-Lynn Fulton, Head of Clinical Trial Management, Vertex Pharmaceuticals Get the book and loads of bonus materials in the online chapter, housing all the links to programs, applications, services, and companies referenced in the book. "I read a lot of business and self-improvement books; many sound the same and most lack ACTIONABLE steps I can take immediately. This book is different and fresh: you'll want to read it with your whiteboard clean and ready because, by the end of the book, you'll have a CLEAR plan for working well and playing more!" Sara Shelp, VP Accounting-Business Operations, Spectra Logic

Play for Health Across the Lifespan uses case studies to explore the impact of play and creativity on health and wellbeing throughout the lifecycle. While play at the start of life influences future development, the authors show play also has a role in improving prospects for health and wellbeing in adulthood and later life. A relational approach to health and wellbeing emphasizes the dynamic, mutually influential relationship between individual development and the changing contexts of our lives. Our personal play history is one feature of this dynamic process, and this book explores how the experience of play throughout the life course sculpts and resculpts the shape of our lives: our physical health, our mental wellbeing, and our relationship to the people and the world around us. Storytelling has been used since the beginning of time to communicate important life lessons in an engaging way. Taking inspiration from Shakespeare’s ‘Seven Ages of Man’, the book uses a case-story approach to differentiate the stages of development and to present evidence for how play and playful experiences impact on health and wellbeing from birth to the end of life in the context of temporal and situational change. Each chapter in Play for Health Across the Lifespan introduces relevant evidence-based research on play and health, before presenting several narrative ‘case stories’, which illustrate the application of play theory and the neuroscience of play as they relate to each life stage. With contributions from specialists in health and education, community organizations and the creative and performing arts, this book will appeal to academics, students, and practitioners who are interested in exploring the role of play in addressing contemporary challenges to our physical, mental, and social health.

______________________ 'Too much to do? Stop and read this' - Guardian 'For a fresh take on an eternal dilemma, Overwhelmed is worth a few hours of any busy woman's life – if only to ensure that she doesn't drop off the bottom of her own “To Do” list' - Mail on Sunday ______________________ In her attempts to juggle work and family life, Brigid Schulte has baked cakes until 2 a.m., frantically (but surreptitiously) sent important emails during school trips and then worked long into the night after her children were in bed. Realising she had become someone who constantly burst in late, trailing shoes and schoolbooks and biscuit crumbs, she began to question, like so many of us, whether it is possible to be anything you want to be, have a family and still have time to breathe. So when Schulte met an eminent sociologist who studies time and he told her she enjoyed thirty hours of leisure each week, she thought her head was going to pop off. What followed was a trip down the rabbit hole of busy-ness, a journey to discover why so many of us find it near-impossible to press the 'pause' button on life and what got us here in the first place. Overwhelmed maps the individual, historical, biological and societal stresses that have ripped working mothers' and fathers' leisure to shreds, and asks how it might be possible for us to put the pieces back together. Seeking insights, answers and inspiration, Schulte explores everything from the wiring of the brain and why workplaces are becoming increasingly demanding, to worldwide differences in family policy, how cultural norms shape our experiences at work, our unequal division of labour at home and why it's so hard for everyone – but women especially – to feel they deserve an elusive moment of peace. ______________________ 'Every parent, every caregiver, every person who feels besieged by permanent busyness, must read this book' - Anne-Marie Slaughter, author of Why Women Still Can't Have It All

Geographies of children and young people is a rapidly emerging sub-discipline within human geography. There is now a critical mass of established academic work, key names within academia, growing numbers of graduate students and expanding numbers of university level taught courses. There are also professional training programmes at national scales and in international contexts that work specifically with children and young people. In addition to a productive journal of Children’s Geographies, there’s a range of monographs, textbooks and edited collections focusing on children and young people published by all the major academic presses then there is a substantive body of work on younger people within human geography and active authors and researchers working within international contexts to warrant a specific Major Reference Work on children’s and young people’s geographies. The volumes and sections are structured by themes, which then reflect the broader geographical locations of the research.