What is Play? Your child's development - Part 1
Posted: Wednesday, June 09, 2004
by E-niko
e-niko ltd
What is play? Play occurs throughout life, but the form of play varies as children grow older. Children play every day. Babies play by exploring with their hands and feet, while young children may dress up to pretend play. For older children playing may mean a specific hobby, playing special games or enjoying specific activities. Play, in one form or another, continues from childhood into adulthood. People who do not take part in any form of play are believed to be more likely to suffer stress, depression and boredom.
Play is considered to be a primary need of every child. Both nature and nurture contribute to the development of the skills required to play effectively. The adult plays a key role in developing successful play in the early years. Play has an important role in the physical, social, emotional, language and cognitive development of children and in essence it is a learning experience.
Play can be divided into two definite categories: free play and structured play.
Free play takes place when the child is leading the play experience, sets out the rules and boundaries. This type of play will often hold the child’s interest longer and children can become engrossed in the activity because they developed it themselves.
Structured play is adult led, guided and planned. Structured play tends to be more limiting and minimises the child opportunities to be inventive.
It is important that in a child’s development there is a good balance between free and structured play.
Stages of play The characteristics of play change as different stages of development are reached. Between 0-2 years children tend to play alone, and there is little interaction with other children. From 2-2 1/2 children are Spectators and will watch other children playing but will not join in. From 2 1/2-3 the are Parallel players, i.e. they will play alongside others but not together and from 3-4 they are classed as Associative players as they begin to interact with others in play and start to develop friendships and the preference of playing with certain other children. Above 4 years they become Co-operative players, playing together with other children and sharing goals for their play.
Types of play and their value for child development Play is classified into four main play types:
- imaginative play
- construction
- creative play
- physical play
Imaginative Play Imaginative play includes pretend, fantasy and symbolic play. Imaginative play develops self-expression as well as giving children the opportunity to explore their experiences. It helps children see things from others point of view and develops social skills. Ideal first toys for imaginative play include puppets and puppet theatres where your child can create and play out scenes and stories from their imagination.
Construction Construction is a process of building an end product from a range of materials. However the end product is not the most important thing, especially not for the younger child. Construction and manipulative play is suitable for all stages of play and can be an individual activity like a jigsaw or a co-operative activity like a floor puzzle. Not only does construction promote manipulative skills it also encourages children to develop their language skills by talking about what they are doing. Suitable toys include: Teifoc sets with real terracotta bricks (age 3 and up), Eitech sets (build a car, tractor - age 6 and up etc) and for younger ones try PlayMais, a natural toy made of maize which little fingers can stick together with water, no mess or fuss, just fun! Also with PlayMais it doesn't matter if your litle one eats a piece while your back is turned, there are only natural colourings used.
Creative Play Creative play covers a range of activities from art and craft work to self-expression through music and dance. Creative play offers children the opportunity to develop fine manipulative skills. Adults should refrain from interfering with a child’s creative work and the work should be displayed without being altered so that they can feel proud of their work and are not dependent on adult ideas.
Physical Play Physical play covers many different indoor and outdoor activities. It can involve equipment such as climbing frames or vehicles or no equipment at all. Physical play not only encourages healthy living habits, but results in better eating and sleeping patterns as well as developing self-confidence and physical competence. Physical play develops both fine and gross motor skills, as well as muscle control.
What we do about it at e-niko
At e-niko we aim to provide toys that will stimulate children throughout their different stages of development. Toys have been selected to support different types of play and encourage children to achieve their potential in all areas of development. We are constantly amazed by the enormous contribution children have made in assisting us to choose our toys. It took us a while to realise that children are amongst the most demanding customers in the world – their rules are very simple: toys must never break and may never become boring!
We knew that we would also have to satisfy parents and carers that the toys they choose from e-niko have high educational value and are absolutely safe. Our selection reflects our commitment and respect to children's developmental needs as well as comprising a large dose of "fun units" to ensure that the boredom-factor is addressed and our little customers stay happy. Author: Eniko Laszlo
Copyright: E-niko Ltd. 2004, All rights reserved.
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More commentsHey, thanks a lot this really helped me with my Child Develpment coursework, I hope I did well, and i hope all the above did well. Thanks again!
this is real helpful and I appreciate it.
very very helpful. thank youThanks a lot this really help me with my Physical Education course however it would have been much better if a reference was attached
hey would you be able to do play development for: physical, intellectual, emotional and social. cos there the ones i need for my cw.
This was helpful. Is there any other websites that can help me with my coursework ?
Thanks alot this really helped Child Development coursework,
thanks it was kind of helpful but i wish if there was more examples and information about every type of play.
it was a little helpful but if only there were more examples of play and information about every type of play and also some information about the theorists.
didnt help as there was no info on manipulative and exploratory play! and no info about the theorists.
Yes this is very informative to us who are students of Early Childhood Education. thanx.
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