If you’ve ever watched a group of kids climb, stack, build, dig, argue, create, and collapse into giggles together, you’ve seen something magical. Real play — the messy, imaginative, hands-on kind — lights up parts of a child’s brain that screens simply can’t touch.
And yet, for many families today, those experiences are becoming rare. Kids spend more time observing than doing, more time tapping than tinkering, and more time consuming than creating.
That’s why the “Spare Parts” Play Approach is making a comeback in communities. If you’re worried about the cost of passive screen time and are ready to help your kids rediscover what their brains and bodies were built for, you’re in the right place.
Let’s explore why this kind of play matters, what “Spare Parts” play actually is, and how you can bring simple, joy-filled elements of it into your home life.
Why Play Matters More Than Ever
Kids aren’t just entertained during real play — they’re being wired for life.
Unstructured, screen-free play develops:
1. Resilience
When a tower falls, mud gets everywhere. When a plan doesn’t work out, kids learn to adapt. They try again. They adjust. They problem-solve. They don’t expect instant gratification — they build grit.
Screens, on the other hand, rarely ask kids to tolerate frustration. With one tap, everything resets. The only muscle being exercised is in thumbs and fingers.
2. Teamwork & Conflict Resolution
Playgrounds, forts, cardboard cities, and spare-parts structures require negotiation:
- “How do we lift this tire way up to the top?”
- “What if we turned it into a spaceship?”
- “Here, I can help!”
Screens rarely teach these skills. Many games are solitary. Even online multiplayer games lack the face-to-face emotional processing that human collaboration requires.
3. Creativity & Executive Function
When kids build with ordinary objects, they’re constantly planning, envisioning, revising, sequencing, and making decisions. They’re architects, engineers, and storytellers.
Screens provide ready-made worlds — meaning fewer opportunities for kids to create on their own.
This is where “Spare Parts” play shines.
What Is the “Spare Parts” Play Approach?
The “Spare Parts” model is simple:
Kids are given a collection of real-world objects — often donated or repurposed — and complete freedom to create, build, explore, and experiment.
Think:
- pallets
- crates
- rope
- tarps
- wooden planks
- tires
- ramps
- big wooden blocks
Give kids materials + space + time, and they’ll invent entire worlds.
Within our Keep it Real community, parents are delighted by what happens when kids interact with these “spare parts”:
They collaborate again.
They disagree and problem solve.
They climb, test, fail, and rebuild.
They’re focused and determined.
Their imaginations ignite.
Kids enter a flow state that screens disrupt, and they leave calmer, more grounded, and more confident.
You don’t need a full playground to replicate these results. A few simple DIY options can unlock the same benefits.
How to Bring Spare Parts Play Into Your Home
Here are three low-effort, high-impact ways families can introduce this kind of play — starting today.
1. Create a “Spare Parts” Play Corner
This doesn’t need to be complicated or expensive. Start with an unused corner of a room somewhere and slowly add a variety of materials.
Ideas to include:
- Cardboard boxes
- Wrapping paper tubes
- Empty spools
- Balls of yarn
- Old scarves
- Bungee cord
- Tennis balls
- Strong Magnets
- Old pulleys
- Funnels
- Egg cartons
- Rubber bands
- All kinds of tape
- Empty #10 Cans
- Miniature play figures
Then simply let your kids have at it.
You’ll be surprised how a pile of “boring” old objects suddenly becomes:
- A superhero hideout
- An obstacle course
- A robot costume
- A futuristic city
- A battlefield
- A new game to play
Screen time leads to mindless entertainment. Spare parts play leads to healthy development.
2. Host a Weekly Family Project Night
Pick one evening per week to try out this family ritual:
The rules are simple:
- No screens for anyone.
- Kids choose the project.
- Adults are helpers — not directors.
Project ideas:
- Build a fort or cardboard castle
- Create a Rube Goldberg machine
- Make a puppet show
- Engineer a trebuchet using spoons and rubber bands
- Construct an obstacle course
- Invent your own board game
- Do woodworking projects
When you let kids lead, something powerful happens:
They take ownership.
They feel capable.
They feel trusted.
Screens rob kids of initiative and tangible results.
Projects restore those.
3. Plan a Wild Family Excursion
Here’s something that can be done once a month, on a fair weather day.
The idea is simple. You pick a date on the calendar and decide on your budget. Then the fun begins.
What will you do?
On the given day, it starts with the roll of a die. Each number represents a different activity.
1 = hiking
2 = biking
3 = going to a body of water
4 = bouldering
5 = a historical site
6 = a museum
What will you eat?
Then you’ll roll the dice again. This time it matches the activity with the food you’ll enjoy while you’re out. Or you can vary this to decide what kind of dessert you’ll enjoy afterward.
1 = build-your-own sandwiches, chips and applesauce
2 = sliders, granola bars and fruit
3 = bagels & cream cheese, yogurt and veggies
4 = go out for pizza, sliced apples and carrots
5 = pasta salad and ice cream
6 = grilled chicken salad and rolls
Add a Specific Challenge
The final step is identifying what challenge you’d like to take on as you venture out. The focus could be on:
- Being friendly and observant of those around you
- Paying attention to your 5 senses
- Noticing details most people would miss
- Cleaning up litter as you go
- Pausing for 15 minutes of silence to be fully present at some point
The goal is to try something new. Something that awakens your senses and sharpens your attention.
Discuss what each of you learned afterward.
Kids learn:
“There’s something exciting about exploring the big wide world around us — no screens attached.”
This teaches families to roll with the unexpected.
It teaches kids they’re worth your time and effort.
What You Might Notice When Kids Shift Toward Real Play
When families try this type of approach, parents notice the same results again and again:
Kids take more initiative.
They stop waiting to be entertained and start generating their own ideas.
Boredom becomes rare — and brief.
Boredom is a feeling of not knowing what to do.
Hands-on living give kids the tools to take action.
There’s more creative conversation at home.
Kids narrate their building process, debate strategies, and tell stories about what they’re noticing.
Siblings cooperate more.
Unstructured play requires roles, negotiation, and teamwork. Even rivals find ways to troubleshoot.
They default to screens less.
Because now they have another world to explore — one that is stimulating in ways the online world never will be.
And perhaps most importantly…
Kids are more grounded and emotionally regulated.
The sensory, physical, and imaginative work of exploring the world around them helps reset the nervous system — an invaluable gift in our overly-distracted culture.
Don’t Go it Alone
If you’d like more ideas — or you’d like to be part of a larger community that’s living this way on purpose — our Keep it Real monthly rally is the perfect starting point. It will serve as the perfect supplement to your ‘screen less’ mission.
When kids and parents link arms with others who are opting out of screen saturation, it feels empowering. Families get excited about this alternate way of living. They love the playful, competitive approach we take at Keep it Real. Within our community, each person matters. Everyone’s goals and accomplishments are recognized. Our focus is on the thrill of doing instead of just watching.
Let’s give kids back what screens have been stealing —
their imagination, their confidence, and their childhood.