Many actions of the two observed children reflect and relate to ideas and theories of child development. Child A involves herself in and sustains pretend play, which links to the ideas of Smilansky, Hartup and Howes. Additionally, elements of her play relate to the idea of egocentrism present in Piaget’s stages of development. Child B’s play includes moments of difficulty to be overcome, and relates to the cognitive developmental theory of Piaget in regards to equilibrium, schemas, accommodation and assimilation. Moreover, themes of moral behaviour and social learning theory are evident. Comparatively, both Child A and B’s play links to research surrounding the concept of sex-typed play behaviour.
In 1968 Smilansky devised a set of four stages,
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The pre-operational stage of Piaget’s theory is characterized by the child’s inability to perform logical thought processes, which relates to the idea of egocentrism. Cognitive egocentrism is defined as being “a lack of differentiation of the physical and psychosocial features” of others in comparison to oneself, and thus “a lack of appreciation of their perspective” (Young, 2011, p.299). This concept links to Theory of Mind, which is the ability to “attribute mental states…to oneself and others, and to understand that others have” mental states that may differ to one’s own (Wikipedia, 2015). It could be inferred that by no longer being egocentric, a child has theory of mind. Piaget found from his research that by the age of seven children have overcome their egocentric thinking. Arguably, by no longer being egocentric we become better at interacting with others and more equipped for life, as we are aware that others may have different thoughts to our own. Therefore, insinuating that not being egocentric is beneficial for a child’s …show more content…
It has been defined as “when children are playing…‘as if’ something or someone is real” (Stagnitti, 2011). Child A takes on the character of a mother figure, and her Mum is her ‘baby.’ Interestingly, despite being under three years of age, Child A manages to remain in character and stay within the pretend play scenario for the full length of the observation. It could be said this is due to her relationship with the other person she is engaging with during this, which is her Mum.
In 1994 Howes suggested, “children’s [pretence] is more sustained and complex when they are playing with friends, compared to acquaintances” (cited in Smith, 2009). Although Child A is not playing with a friend, it can be inferred that her Mum is more than her acquaintance; therefore, Howes’ statement can apply as if Child A was with a friend. Subsequently, this could explain how Child A managed to sustain her pretend play for five minutes at a minimum. Additionally, it has been proposed by Hartup that “mutuality and emotional commitment…may motivate children to sustain cooperative interaction” (1996, cited in Smith, 2009). Likewise to Howes’ perspective, this could explain Child A’s play behaviour. It can be assumed that as parent and child, the pair has an emotional commitment. In addition to this, it is evident from the observation there is cooperative interaction, as the Mum responds to what Child A says and does, and vice versa.
Dr. Alison Gopnik’s drew the following truth that “children are intellectually more skilled and far more sophisticated in their thinking then we ever imagined”(Gopnik2009). Gopnik also stated preschoolers are extremely well designed for learning. They are naturally curious. They learn through exploring and playing. “The value of play” was also presented in Gopnik’s research. He clarified that when children engage in pretend play, they will have imaginary characters and explore other world. They are learning peoples’ nature, how people think, do, and work. This helps them understand themselves and other people, to improve their social traits or in balancing school, and to increase their social competences in life. Gopnik demonstrated the idea
Psychological research has recognized the importance of relationships with friends and peers in the development of social skills. Although previous research has looked at the differentiated experiences that children have in play styles, few studies have focused on the precise nature of these differences and how they are manifested as a function of the social context. Fabes, Martin & Hanish (2003) examined social interactions among children. More specifically, they observed children’s naturally occurring interactions over the course of a school year to examine how active-forceful play, play near adults and gender stereotypic activity choices varied among children by the sex of the child, the sex of the partner they interacted with and whether
Piaget believed that young children’s cognitive processes are intrinsically different from adults and that when they moved from a position of egocentrism to sociocentrism (during adolescence) that they had reached their potential in cognition.
Play is an important part of emotional-social development. Play can act as a way for children to reveal their innermost feelings and express thought. As defined by the text, play is “voluntary activities done for enjoyment or recreation that are not performed for any sake beyond themselves.” Children move through different levels of play as they mature. One form of play which scientists have become increasingly interested in is imaginative play. With imagination children learn how to be creative. Many children between ages 3-5 create imaginary friends for themselves.
Side note: Piaget also felt in this stage children were “egocentric” that everything was about them. For example, when my three-year-old builds a tent and demands for her one-year-old sister to play. If her sister does not join in her fun, she will get mad and yell at her saying, “Mommy Anika come in my tent! Make her!”
Children's development is supported by different types of play and “From age’s three to five, children learn through play by pretending with materials and practicing language.” As children are practicing their language
When Albert Einstein stated that “play is the highest form of research,” I believe that from a child's perspective he could not have been anymore right. Through analyzing the play episodes of a four year old girl named Noelle, I was able to relate my observations to research and theory regarding the development and benefits of play that influence the social, emotional, and cognitive development of children. As children play they learn which helps them to progress and develop their minds and social skills. Play is one of the most influential exercises to progressively develop children.
Play is such an important part of the learning and growing, especially for children. Children engage in many different types of play, but the play I saw the most when I observe the children of my daycare is sociodramatic play. The book Understanding Dramatic Play by Judith Kase-Polisini defines sociodramatic play as “both players must tacitly or openly agree to act out the same drama” (Kase-Polisini 40). This shows that children play with each other and make their worlds together as equal creators. Children also work together without argument. There is also some personal play involved in their sociodramatic play. The children involved in the play worked to make a family having dinner, which is great example of how this will prepare them for
Lillard, A. S. (1993). Pretend play skills and the child's theory of mind. Child Development, 64(2), 348-371. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.ep9306035466
Piaget brought new insight into the area of cognitive development. He described intellectual development as a sequence of four principal stages, each made up of several sub-stages. All children move through these stages in the same order, but each moves at his or her own pace. The Preoperational Phase is associated with the child of approximately two to seven years. The child’s thought process in this phase is characterized by egocentrism; that is, the child cannot look at something from another’s point of view.
Lillard, A., Lerner, M., Hopkins, E., Dore, R., Smith, E., Palmquist, C. (Jan2013).The Impact of Pretend Play on Children's Development: A Review of the Evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139 (1), p1-34
The word “play” has numerous meanings to different people in different contexts. Therefore it cannot have one definition and is described in a number of ways. Smith (2010) describes play as involvement in an activity, purely for amusement and to take part for fun. That play is “done for it’s own sake, for fun, not for any external purpose.” (Smith, 2010. P4) Therefore, as one precise definition cannot be presented for the word ‘play,’ it is described in a number of ways such as social dramatic play. Briggs and Hanson (2012) portray social dramatic play as the building blocks of a child’s ability to accept the possibility to step into another world, building and developing on children’s higher order thinking, accentuating the child as a social learner. Another example of play is exploratory play, which is described as children being placed in an explorer or investigator role, to identify the cause or affect a resources that is presented to them has. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012) Games are also another example of play. They are included on the basis that playing games with rules, regardless of age, can develop a child’s intellectual capabilities along with their physical, behavioural and emotional health. (Briggs, M and Hanson, A. 2012).
...Fein, G. G. 1981. Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child development, pp. 1095--1118.
According to Piaget Child C’s thinking could be considered as self centred, he’s at an age (4) where he thinks his views are right and others are wrong. According to Piaget children within the age range of 2 – 6 are in the preoperational stage, at this age children are not yet able to comprehend reasoning, they are unable manipulate information hence the reason why they tend to make statements such as ‘he or she is not sharing’ or ‘it’s not fair’ or ‘I’m not your friend’, this sort of behaviour is referred to as egocentrism.
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