The Neufeld Family Experiment

Hi friends,

We’re excited (and a little nervous!) to share that we’ve launched a podcast together: The Most Important Thing.

It’s about building intentional family culture. We’re on a mission to explore how ambitious, busy families can create connection, meaning, and resilience at home—just as intentionally as they do in their work or personal growth. Each episode blends personal stories, research, and simple experiments you can try in your own family—right alongside us, the Neufeld guinea pigs.

Our first seven episodes cover important foundational topics like family meetings, family stories, family meals, family values, family play (see below), and most recently, family space and family movement. We share updates on our family experiments every few episodes, so keep an ear out for those. And if you have ideas for future experiments, we’d love to hear them!

If TMIT sounds like something you’d enjoy (or someone you know might), we’d love for you to 👂️ listen, 🔘 follow, ⭐️ rate, 💬 comment, and ⬆️ share — your engagement really does help more people discover the show.

🎧 Listen on Spotify | Apple Podcasts

Thanks for being part of our extended family. This means a lot to us.

With love,

Danielle & Greg

We dropped a new episode earlier this week, all about family play!

“The opposite of play isn’t work—it’s depression.” — Dr. Stuart Brown

In this episode, we explore why play isn’t just for kids—and why families who play together are more connected, creative, and resilient. Drawing from the work of Dr. Stuart Brown, founder of the National Institute for Play, we unpack how play acts as developmental glue that holds families together.

So what is “The Most Important Thing” about Family Play? To know your play personalities! And leverage this knowledge to reduce resistance to play and invite connection with your family. 

We also discuss:

• What play actually is—not a strict definition, but a state of mind marked by joy, spontaneity, and freedom.

• Dr. Brown’s 7 properties of play, from its purposeless nature to its magnetic pull that makes us want to keep coming back.

• Why play matters for families: it builds emotional safety, strengthens problem-solving, and encourages adaptability.

• How spectator play (like watching a game or show together) can offer deep intergenerational connection.

Listen here: Spotify | Apple Podcasts 

Take the play personality quiz here!