Social Learning and Child Development

890 Words2 Pages

Play helps equip children for what life may throw at them. Children are born to be actively engaged and explore the world with their own eyes. Through play children learn what it means to fail in life as well as what it means to accomplish a goal. Play is not only a strategy to keep children entertained in early childhood, but also allows children to learn how to create and work together at an early stage. Children at play has been undervalued by society without realizing that “playfulness is that benign base on which the most valuable worlds of children can be successfully built (Iakov, 2012, p. 25),” meaning that play is a fundamental strategy that assist children to develop experiences for the future. It is very upsetting that society undervalues play without acknowledging that play allows a child to express his sentiments and understand how to deal with emotions. Also, play has the power to teach children about themselves. Specifically, a child will “begin to have an ever-greater influence on perception and understanding of (certain aspects of) the real world and real events- past, present, and future- and begins to define the relation with the real world (Iaakov, 2012, 26).” This demonstrates that just as food helps build the body, play helps a child develop their mind for what lies ahead of them. During the observation at the Jewish center, the three activities done in class demonstrated cognitive and social learning through play and activities.
Piaget clearly states that children in the cognitive development, ages two to six years old, use their imagination; however, they are not able to think logically. According to Piaget, in the cognitive development, a child needs to go through a preoperational stage. When a child...

... middle of paper ...

...development than what they can do alone (Berger, 2009, p. 254),” which means that guiding children sets a foundation for later complex skills. Through play, children learn to make mistakes via hands on experiences. In the observation the children did not give up; instead, they explored new talents that they could use for the future. Overall, social learning allows children to excel new skills by interacting with the environment.
At age four to six children show they want to explore the world by doing play and activities. Through play children are able to excel in their cognitive and social development. In the observation the children did three activities that showed Piaget’s and Vygotsky theory. The children were able to learn new skills by using their imagination and being guided by an adult. Above all, play has the power to prepare a child for the real world.

Open Document