Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
How play is learning and how play influences children's growth and development
The influence of play on children
Importance of play in child growth essays
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
1. What is play?
Play is the work of children. In psychology and ethnology, play is defined as "a range of voluntary, intrinsically motivated activities normally associated with recreational pleasure and enjoyment."However, children's play is not only focused on amusement but also provides opportunities to build fundamental life skills. Through play, children can develop physical, emotional, social and cognitive ability as they can increase the intellectual level such as colors, shapes and even language, and also develop communication ability to share emotions such as joy, fear, sorrow and anxiety. These development acquired during all stages of childhood becomes the core building blocks for their adolescence and adulthood and is "fundamental
…show more content…
It is important for caregivers to encourage children while playing, without any limitation of a rule set by adults.
3. Functions of play
In early stage of child development, play frequently reinforces the child's physical and cognitive development.
• Physical development. By repeating certain body movements, children can learn how to control their body. An infant attempting to grasp a toy and once the infant achieved it, he or she becomes aware of using his or her hands and develop the ability to more complex movements.
• Cognitive development. Children gain knowledge through play such as games and puzzles to think, remember and solve problems. Language ability can be strengthened as they organize their thoughts to communicate with others. Educational materials such as books can enhance their understanding and concept of the world.
For children old enough to be engaged in games with rules, their social, emotional and moral development is more emphasized.
• Social development. Playing games with their peers can teach them how to distinguish rules, work as a team, and compete with others. Most importantly, they learn how to interact with different personalities as well as the feeling of winning and losing. Through game playing, children learn how to "relate to others, manage stress and learn
…show more content…
Playing with others as a member of a community, children identify the behavior that is acceptable and unacceptable. Working in a team for a group play, children recognize how to share and understand feelings. The role of parents in this stage is to teach their children to manage aggressive behavior, such as manners in a public place, through role playing or storytelling.
National Institute for Play, established in 2007 based out of New York City, is performing a study on play in the perspective of neuroscience, using "256-lead electroencephalogram." The aim of this study is to objectify the functions of play. Lead by the institute, more objective studies on play are expected to be introduced with science-based results.
4. Conclusion
Play is crucial in developing children's physical, cognitive, social, emotional, and moral behavior. The role of caregivers during the period is also important to understand appropriate plan to develop the ability of children. Safety is another responsibility of parents for play.
Play is also a sign of good health: if children do not respond spontaneously, it may indicate illness. For the treatment, it may consider adopting certain forms of play according to the types of illness.
Children play for fun and play does not associate particular purpose. If "the purpose is more important than the act of doing it, it is probably not
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
The second section will evaluate the importance of play on different aspects of social development and in various stages of an individual. The third section will analyze how viewpoints on function of play on development are shaped by historical and contextual factors such as culture and economy. Developmental psychologists use various research methods such as naturalistic observations, interviews, experimental research and examining the natural context of children’s everyday interaction within the family to study the role of play in children’s development. They apply different approaches to study different types of play. Play by nature, creates a natural learning environment for the child.
Play is instrumental in the healthy development of children. The development of play throughout an individual life is essential in providing the necessary methods to foster growth and development in critical developmental areas. According to Davies (2011), play is instrumental in providing a bridge for the child to transition from a toddler with a limited capacity to understand the world into a child in the middle years who can think logically. Play is also important in fostering cognitive development, social development, language and communication, moral development, self-regulation, and sense identity.
Play is a wonderful asset for our children and can benefit them in many ways: physical, language, self-concept, and social development are four examples of the different areas that massively impact a child’s development. The different play...
Ginsburg, K. R. (2006). "The Species of the World. " The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent–Child Bonds. USA: American Academy of Pediatrics.
A major question that is continuously being researched and observed is whether children’s play is beneficial to children’s development. While many scientists have proved that play is, in fact, helpful in the development of children, I want to research how the different types of play affect children’s development, specifically children that are transitioning from late infancy to toddlerhood. The four different types of play that I will focus on observing is exploratory and manipulative play, functional or relational play, social play routines and pretend play. Furthermore, I would observe the children’s agency during their play and the social structures that can prevent children from playing, thus, resulting in lack of development.
... play has a strong impact on a child’s emotional development as well (Hjelmstedt & Collins, 2008).
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.
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:
While playing, children are gaining creative skills for creative development, which enhances the ability of creativity, learning techniques, and academic success. The most important development is cognitive. This development is vital for school success. Cognitive development enables a child to solve problems, mentally plan, self-monitor, remember, and evaluate. (Isenburg & Jalongo, 2010)
Engaging activities not only support different learning styles, but also bring pleasure to children, when they feel good about what they are doing they will want to do explore more, and thus the pleasure reinforces a child’s drive to continue playing/learning. Open-ended play is ...
Article 31 from the United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC, 1989) states the right to play is for children to engage in activities freely that are age appropriate. All individuals should endorse equal opportunities for leisure, artistic, cultural and recreational activities. The right of play is important element for education as it is instrumental for achieving health and peak development. (Lester, S., Russell, W. 2010 p. ix) states that rest, leisure and play are combined into a child’s life to be controlled by each individual child not to be coordinated by an adult. Play is children being in control of their own doings; play is allowing children to create, explore, imagine problem solve and experiment in a way in which
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.
To clarify the importance of play I would first explain what is the character of play in early childhood
Why play is important to the holistic development of the child & your role as an educator to support the children?