Play is a way for children to learn about their environment and how their interactions occur within, though play children develop resilience. However, some children may experience stressful occurrences during their existence and therefore, play can be often be restricted. Therefore, the play worker’s role in facilitating a child’s play is a crucial measure towards the child's development. Practitioners that work with children experience the skilfulness to prompt or even contribute to a child’s play, which is a principle constituent in therapeutic alliance. However, for those children mentioned above, what happens when play becomes nonexistent or deprived, then how do these children engage in play? This has been a continuous argument amongst practitioners as well as researchers in the field of child development, and consequently, this essay will “evaluate some of the benefits and challenges of developing play/leisure activities” of therapeutic play, along with identifying how play serves its purpose in regards to children’s holistic and play development. Using a therapeutic partnership, this essay will accentuate how the therapist can facilitate the play of the children of all ages through the means of a child centred-play therapy / directive play therapy.
For all living beings, play is an instinctive biological disposition, which helps to facilitate and enrich children’s overall development. In addition to play facilitating and enriching lives, many theorists as well as researchers have shown play to form a fundamental facet of children’s wellbeing, suggesting that providing the opportunity to play enables children with the ability to work out problems through solutions along with enhancing creativeness.
Furthermore, promo...
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...to reality and to create awareness of their responsibilities in promoting the child’s development stages (Porter et al., 2007).
Works Cited
Lindon, J. (2001) Understanding children’s play Cheltenham: Nelson Thornes.
MaMahon, L. (2009) Play therapy (2nd ed.) New York: Routledge.
Axline, V. (1947) Play therapy
Gil, E. (1994) Play in family therapy. New York: The Guilford Press.
Lanyado, M and Horne, A. (1999) Child and adolescent psychotherapy London: Routledge.
opPorter, L, M., Hernandez, M and Jessee, P. (2007) Play Therapy: a review Journal*
Redgrave, K. (2000) Care- therapy for children New York: Continuum.
Piaget, J. and Inhelder, B. (1969) The Psychology of the Child. London: Routledge.
Landreth, G. (2001) Innovations in play therapy. New York: Brunner-Routledge.
Moyles, J. (2005) The excellence of play (2nd ed.) Maidenhead: Open University Press
This study looked at the therapeutic relationship and its influence in the process of Child-centered play therapy (CCPT). An exploratory single subject quantitative-qualitative design was used to examine therapist relational variables and their associations with changes in children’s behavior in CCPT (Hilliard, 1993; Jordans, Komproe, Tol, Nsereko, & De Jong, 2013). Specifically, we examined changes in levels of therapist process variables and their corresponding relationships with changes in children’s behaviors within and between cases to better understand therapeutic processes that impact child behavior, as well as the therapeutic relationship.
Melanie Klein was born on March 30th 1882, born in Vienna, Austria. Melanie was going to go to attend medical school but family fortunes disabled that process. Melanie was the last of four siblings. Growing up, Melanie’s relationship with her mother, Libussa Reize, was always difficult causing depression later on in her life. Having her sights set on studying at the gymnasium, in 1898 she passed her entrance exams for psychiatric medicine. At age twenty-one she got married to Arthur Klein, who was an industrial chemist and they had three children. Melanie first experienced psychoanalysis when she began taking treatment after her mother’s death.
Many theorists have tried to define play as a concept, however, no two agree on a set definition. Their backgrounds and induvial lifestyles influence the way they see the importance of play. Reed and Brown also believe that there isn’t an agreed definition of play because is something that is felt rather than done (Reed & Brown, 2000 cited in Brock, Dodd’s, Jarvis & Olusoga, 2009). In spite of this, it is clear that most theorists uphold the ethos that play is imperative to a child’s learning and development. There is a wide range of different studies and theories which helps us develop our own perception of what play is. In my personal experience I have found play to be a way of expressive our emotions, exploring and learning new things, thus
Rye N. Child-Centred Play Therapy. In: JH Stone, M Blouin, editors. International Encyclopedia of Rehabilitation. 2010.
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
...lighted this feature because I value respect and feel that a very important aspect of working with children is engaging their families which invites opportunity for respect to be demonstrated. Dietze & Kashin (2012) explain the importance of engaging families when they state “Including the input of others is essential in a reflective practice and families have a right to be included” (p.411). In one of my placements I saw the positive impact that including a parent had on a young boy when his mother came in to read a story to the. The boy’s self-esteem seemed to increase and could be seen in the way that he beamed the whole time she was there. This experience highlighted to me the importance of family involvement in an early childhood program. These three highlighted statements all reflect values that are important to me and which are important parts of my practice.
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
There are too many children with anger problems in society and this is in fact proving to show difficulty in the home, in school, and with peers. A variety of behaviours are occurring, such as bullying, acting out, angry outbursts, fighting, harming self, and destruction of objects. These behaviours affect the individual as well as those around them. In order to improve the individual, play therapy needs to be implemented.
Children have a natural inclination to play, alongside a natural instinct to learn and to be curious and inventive, which are characteristics of the human race in general. This quote taken from Janet Moyles is a good starting point for this essay. It is well known that children love to play. If a child were to be left to his/her own devices they would happily play and create new worlds anywhere they were left. It has been well documented and researched that children learn excellently through play. However they are not always given the opportunity to do so, instead being told to, ‘finish your work and then you can go play’. Obviously this is not always the case, but the fact that it is a common practice shows that we do not all fully appreciate the importance of play to children’s learning. This essay will attempt to show how children learn through play, making reference to current theory and practice. I will also give examples from my own first-hand experience of how children learn and develop as people through play.
As the semester comes down to an end, I have realized how much I have grown. My knowledge for play therapy was not as large as it is now. I am so thankful that I was able to be in this class and learn what I have learned. The skill set I have gained has helped me tremendously with my practice.
Thinking back on my childhood, I first remember all the times I played outside in my backyard. I would pretend to dig up dinosaur bones or create imaginary realms of ancient lands; there I would perform diplomatic services for the people in need. I was usually alone, and those are some of my fondest memories. When I first decided to become a teacher and thought about what is important to my philosophy on how children learn, I immediately knew I was a strong believer in play. Although, many decision makers such as legislators and school district leaders believe in more academic types of learning styles, my paper will discuss why play is so powerful and important to children.
Children develop normally when they are exposed to different types of play that allow them to express themselves while using their imaginations and being physically active. According to the Center for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness, “Play is child’s work”; this is true because it is a child’s job to learn and develop in their first few years of life, in order for them to do this, they play. Not only is playing a child’s full time job, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights listed play as a right of every child. Through their full time job of play, the children develop emotionally, socially, physically, and creatively. Children need to participate in child-led play in order to facilitate healthy development of their minds, body, and creativity.
by Association for Play Therapy, the video states "Play is their language it is how they communicate just as adults use words. Play is a child's way of communicating with the adults. " At a young age, a child cannot easily express themselves with words so it could be hard for the child to connect with either their parents or their therapist. There are many benefits of play and some of them are that it encourages open and voluntary communication, builds trust and mastery, fosters learning and acceptable behaviors, regulates emotions, reduces stress, promotes creative, problem-solving, and elevates spirit and self-esteem (Play Therapy Works!) Children in Play therapy are
In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.
The History of Play Therapy Play therapy is not something new. Depending on who you talk to either Carl Rogers or Garry Landreth developed child centered play therapy in the 1980s based on Virginia Axline’s work, who treated “troubled children” (Bornsheuer and Watts, 2012; Johnson et al., 1999). Child-centered play therapy can be defined as creating a“dynamic interpersonal relationship between a child and a therapist” (Bornsheuer and Watts, 2012, p. 2) which is trained in play therapy to create a safe environment where the child is able to express themselves fully. Child centered play therapy allows children learn more about themselves and use that to start the healing process (Post, 2014). Rogerian theory discusses establishing concrete goals with both the child and the parents (Post, 2014).