'He's Been Praying For This For Years' — Mom Shares The Sweet Moment A Boy Knocked On The Door To Ask Her Son To Play For The First Time
stefanolunardi | Shutterstock Mom and "Let Me Ask You This" podcast host Ebie Hepworth shared a video of her son, excitedly sharing the news that a neighborhood kid knocked on their door, asking him to play, something uncommon in today's world. With a new generation growing up in houses glued to screens, children's friendships and free playtime are changing. That's not necessarily a good thing. Fun and friends are integral to kids' development, and it's something scheduled activities don't achieve in the same way.
I remember hearing a knock on my door after school, and judging by the tap patterns and strength, I knew exactly who it was: my childhood best friend and next-door neighbor, wrapped into one person, standing on my front porch. Rushing to my dad to ask if I could go play outside, he always said yes! We played anything from Tag to basketball to House, and these moments were some of the most cherished of my youth.
A mom shared the sweet moment a boy knocked on their door to ask her son to play for the very first time.
Hepworth captioned the video, "The first time anyone has knocked on our door to ask if our son, Asa, can play," with 11 exclamation marks. Gaining over two million views, the double-digits make sense. Asa barged into his mother's room to tell her all about the children (Dallas, Troy, and Yvonne) who just knocked on their door to ask him if he wanted to come out to play with them. He smiled with childhood delight, and it's hard not to feel joyful just watching him.
Hepworth was understandably gleeful, asking Asa, "What did you say?" With arms behind his back, he said that he asked his dad, and he said it was alright by him, "so I'm doing it right now." The happiness from the little boy glowed through the screen from smile to tippy-toe. He got his wish. He was going outside to play with other kids!
A resurgence of outside play was highlighted in an article by Julie Wargo Atkins in the summer of 2020. Amidst a pandemic, the neighborhood kids were on bikes, using chalk, jumping rope, and playing with balls. Connection and fun with other people were made a priority. Met with reflection only by being inside the house, Atkins observed this peculiarity and chose to dig deeper as to why this surprised her.
Proximity in early adolescent friendships sets up a stable foundation for the longevity of a relationship.
Atkins discovered that "Children who lived close to one another were found to have high-quality friendships that were more frequent, emotionally intimate and longer-lasting than those that did not." Consistency in quality time and physical presence showed that children have someone in times of jubilee and distress that they can rely on.
A knock on the door starts with a desire to connect and grows into conversations that these kids will carry with them. Sadly, studies have found that kids are seriously lacking in time for free play, which is likely why Asa and his parents were so ecstatic at the prospect.
Education and child development expert Syeda Sazia Zaman from the BRAC Institute of Educational Development at BRAC University told UNICEF, “Play is at the core of the development of the child." Zaman added, "Children experience and learn about their world through play: they explore their physical environment, express their emotions, and build their vocabulary through playful moments." Basically, it's essential for their brain.
The mom's touching video was a reminder that even when the world seems chaotic, there's still simple joy and kindness in kids playing together.
Alex Desanshe | Shutterstock
Observing the sweetness in this video, I couldn't help but cheer him on. The top commenter said it best: "Kids still knock on doors to recruit for outside[;] the world is healing." The world is healing through the empathetic and radiant energy that this little boy and his family exude.
In a response video, Hepworth again shared Asa's experience playing with the kids. They played soccer and went on the seesaw! He excitedly laughed about their jumps off the platform as if he were replaying and cementing the memories in his head, just as I did at one time. "I hope they knock on the door next time because then I'll be ready," Asa asserted.
To be considered, included, and daring is all integral to building connections, no matter what age. Asa is learning through experience. He'll be at the door the same way we all were at one time, anticipating games of kickball, getting scraped knees, and terrorizing the neighborhood in the best way possible.
Emi Magaña is a writer from Los Angeles with a bachelor's in English. She covers entertainment, news, and the real human experience.
