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Observation is restraint in action — the courage to stay curious instead of in control. Most adults are uncomfortable just watching children play. We’ve been conditioned to fix, teach, guide, or correct. But observation demands the opposite. It asks us to hold back. To see play clearly, you have to resist the urge to manage it. That means noticing your own impulses: to step in, to tidy up, to make it “mean something.” Real observation isn’t passive; it’s disciplined curiosity. It’s paying attent