Our family dinners turned into everyone performing elaborate characters and inside jokes that started as silly fun, but now my teenage daughter said it feels 'forced' and we all realized we don't know when play becomes performance. We're not sure if we should drop the bit or if that would kill something precious about how we connect.
More people experience this than they realize.
You've hit the paradox of how conscious attention to play can destroy the spontaneity that makes it playful.
“Where Are You with What is play — a philosophical definition?”
If this sounds familiar, the Library can help you find the bigger picture.