Recently on a Monday afternoon, it rained unexpectedly. No thunder or lightning…just Rain. The kids had been doing their schoolwork most of the day but were finished and had hoped to go outside to play. So they were not happy to see the sky open up and pour down on their plans. [NOTE: This post may contain affiliate links. It helps support our blog but we only recommend things we have tried and love!]

So we watched it pour and pour and the kids tried to think of things to do now that they were officially stuck in the house. But then the rain slowed to a steady sprinkle. Seeing that there was no thunder or lightning and that this was a pop up fall shower, I told the kids to get their rain boots on. I also told baby girl to get her new umbrella that she had colored herself. (This is the neatest umbrella that has panels of colorless drawings that your kids can color with water-proof markers…completely adorable!) They all happily obliged because they knew what was coming next.

Outside we went, into the steady sprinkles for some good old fashioned puddle jumping and playing in the rain.

This seems to be a lost art, though the instructions for doing this activity are woven into a child’s DNA. You don’t see this activity much anymore but I think it’s one that is useful to everyone who engages in it.

Playing in the rain feeds the soul of a child.

It does. Scientific fact. Playing in the rain allows kids to get wet and dirty and it also allows the built up laughter deep inside of them (not just the little laughs at the surface) to bubble up and be released. This causes the mouth muscles to engage the usually-underworked latero-obglingota maxio facial muscles. Ok, so maybe that last part is a bit made up. But it does make them smile huge and constantly.

And the laughter…all the giggles! The birds in the trees even stop their singing to watch the fun the kids are having. I watch them soak up the rain into their stringy hair and a little bit inside their rain boots. They jump in puddles, the bigger the splash the better. Running in the puddles works well, too. All of this gets the heart pumping and the laughter flowing. The eyes sparkling and the Soul feeding.

This is what children thrive on…fun. No bickering, no arguing, no whining and no pouting. It’s virtually impossible to simultaneously do any of these offensive kid behaviors and also play in the rain. Also scientific fact.

Playing in the rain is one of the few times I can count on my kids not arguing with each other. They truly enjoy each other’s company and feed off of each other while splashing in the puddles.

Imagine all the memories they are stitching together in their childhood. Stitching together a blanket of memories that they’ll undoubtedly pull out of the closet when they’re older and wrap themselves up in it to recall those moments of pure bliss and innocence.

Maybe all of us should go play in the rain every now and then.

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