The Kidult Handbook

Book excerpt: Adulting is hard! But “kidulting”— engaging in nostalgic childhood activities to relieve stress, like playing with your old favorite toys, participating in games and activities from your youth, and even snacking on the foods you enjoyed as a kid— isn’t. Let this book be your guide to indulging your inner child. “Kidulting” is a thing, and it’s growing! Especially popular among millennials, the term “kidulting” refers to engaging in activities from your childhood, sometimes with a grown-up twist. Psychology Today points out that playing like a kid helps you look at the world with fresh eyes—or “beginner’s mind”—which allows you to slow down and focus. The Kidult Handbook is a fun and informative guide to healthy escapism through play. Much like adult coloring books, kidulting is a way of focusing your mind on something fun and creative to relieve stress. But this book goes way beyond just coloring—it includes 160 ideas for fun, from timeless classics like building blanket and pillow forts, to generation-specific ideas, from millennials to boomers. Interspersed throughout are fun facts and trivia about games through the ages. Most activities are unplugged and screen-free, and range from solitary pursuits to ones you can share with a friend or two. Feeling young again has never been so easy!