We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.”-George Bernard Shaw
Play is one of the most important aspect of child development. It is one of the ways in which children learn and also helps them to manage their feelings. It caters to all the domains of child development. Thus, helping the child to bloom into a beautiful being.
Free play enables children to understand their own preferences and interests.But play guided by an adult, where the child does her own actions, better promotes learning with a specific goal in mind.
Some of the benefits of play:
Cognitive Skills: Learning and Play
- Pushing and making the car move; learning about cause and effect.
- Putting up the boxes; learning about visual, spatial and size.
- Sorting of toys; learning about sequencing, grouping , numbers, counting.
- Puzzle: learning about shapes and size.
- Making their own game; creativity.
Motor Skills: Movement and Play
- Pushing and pulling toys
- Throwing, hitting and catching ball
- Picking up small things
- Riding on toys
- Using crayons and paints
Social and Emotional Skills:
- From the time toddlers start to play with one another, they start understanding about relationships.
- Learn to share toys and take turns and wait for their turn, hence inculcating patience.
- Learn to negotiate if two children want the same toy/book.
- They develop leadership qualities and are able to make rules.
- They also learn to be a follower.
- Learn to mingle with others and understand that consent is important hence, learn how to ask to join in a game.
Language Skills:
- Reading books, singing songs and rhymes are a good way to reinforce language and vocabulary.
- Talking with friends and listening to them.
Play and Feelings:
- Children express their feeling by the way they play. If a very young child plays aggressively it may reflect the anxiousness and frustration that the child might be experiencing.
- Children sometimes may not be able to express their feelings verbally but they can do so by drawing.
- When a child loses a game, for example, they learn to process sadness, anger, and grief. Playing also helps build confidence and encourages the development of their identity and self-esteem.
How to play with Children:
- Follow the child’s lead and interest. Let them make the rules.
- Listen but don’t instruct what needs to be done.
- Engage with them by asking open ended questions, for example, ‘where are the people going? What are you going to feed your doll?’
- Allow plenty of time.
- Let them experiment and make mistakes.
- Encourage and Appreciate their efforts.
Most important play for children is the play with parents. There should be some quality time.
Some play ideas for parents:
Babies/Infants:
- Playing with infants may seem a little hard as babies cannot sit, crawl, walk, talk, or stand. But playful learning can start at any age.
- At this age, infants are most interested in faces and facial expressions. They love games like peekaboo. It helps teach them about object permanence.
- They love bright contrasting colours, objects and textures like rattles. Infants love to babble and coo, responding to them makes them happy and also helps them develop their linguistic skills.
- Showing them big picture books.
- Introducing them to different sounds like that of a jal tarang.
Toddlers
- As the child grows, their play options increase. They tend to like brightly coloured objects, age-appropriate balls, cars, animal figures and blocks. Puzzles, simple artistic supplies, and pretend play is excellent for children of this age.
- Singing and dancing, hitting and throwing balls.
- It is important for children to engage in pretend play using dolls, blocks, figures, household objects or just by dressing up as somebody, example, some old clothes and a hat. Pretend play enhances creativity and imagination. The child tends to think and play and makes his own connections and experiences.
- Read to your child on a regular basis. Try doing an extension activity/craft activity after the story session.
Preschoolers
Preschool-age children are beginning to get independent. They have an understanding of the world, and their place in it, hence much of their play is self driven and structured.
- It is a great age to introduce solo activities, like puzzles, LEGOs, and tower building. But that being said, it is equally important that preschoolers are social as it is key to their development.
- Enjoying a mindful walk, where you talk about your surroundings, touch, feel, smell them.
- Gardening, especially digging and watering the plants.
- Help in preparing meals or involve in house chores.
- Doing an outdoor activity such as washing the car.
The list goes on but the essence lies in the fact that play is valuable for children — very valuable.
Resources:
https://www.healthline.com/health/the-importance-of-play#when-kids-dont-play