This is because children seem to have a natural urge to play and playing brings a level of pleasure and interest which means it can be maintained without external rewards. Physical development - active play using large and small muscles such as climbing, running, ball games, digging, jumping, and dancing.
Social and emotional development - dramatic and imaginative play which includes dressing up and role play can develop positive social and emotional skills and values.
This provides opportunities for children to:. Cognitive development - when your child plays individually and with others their cognitive skills, such as thinking, remembering, learning and paying attention are all being developed. Children develop the following cognitive skills through play:.
Literacy and numeracy development - play requires thinking, language, interactions, curiosity and exploration. In turn, this helps them develop the ability to concentrate. Providing children with a range of playthings will help them learn in a number of ways:. It's important that learning is fun at this age.
It needs to be about doing things with them that they like. They might find unusual ways of doing things - for a toddler, building blocks aren't just for making towers, and paint can be used without a brush! Show them how things work, but if they want to experiment, let them. Children learn through all their senses through taste, touch, vision, hearing and smelling. They will watch those around them and copy language and behaviour. Don't push your child too hard.
Children develop in their own ways and in their own time. Try not to compare them to other children. You can also encourage reading, by reading to and with them. Look at the pictures together; this will help younger children make sense of the words. It's also good to talk to them a lot, about everyday things while you are cooking or cleaning. This will give you a chance to teach them how things work and they will be able to ask you questions.
Play also allows children to relax, let off steam, develop social skills such as concentration and co-operation, encourages the development of the imagination, develops motor skills and teaches self expression.
Whilst it is very important that children play with their peers and are given opportunities for unstructured play, children who also play with a loved adult can benefit greatly — the benefits of having fun together cannot be underestimated! Adults have a role within the play by making time and space available with the relevant resources. Think about creating play ideas that help support and extend learning and development. Children make sense of the world in which they live by acting out situations before they happen and by copying what they see around them.
Most children are naturally imaginative and will happily talk away to someone on their toy phone or drive the sofa to the shops, and this creativity should be actively encouraged! Encouraging your young child to explore outdoor play is extremely beneficial and necessary for their development. Outdoor play helps them to learn lots about the everchanging environment and gives them the opportunity to use their whole body and develop their gross motor skills.
No matter what it looks like, when children play, they learn. There are six reasons play, both unstructured and structured, is important for child development:. During play, kids stretch their imaginations.
They create make-believe games or get lost in pretend worlds. Children act out different solutions while boosting their confidence. They make their own rules and learn how to follow or adapt those rules as needed.
These are helpful skills for navigating life and developing relationships with others. Symbolic play is the ability to imagine one object as another.
For example, a stick, a bucket and pinecones can become a cooking spoon, a pot and yummy ingredients. Symbolic play is an important part of healthy development. It builds skills that children need for future learning and problem solving.
What does fostering cognitive growth mean? It means that play is essential to healthy brain development. Unstructured play is the time when kids direct their own play. They are not bound by schedules or activities directed by adults. It strengthens and increases neural connections in the brain. These are the paths in the brain that we use for thinking.
Unstructured play also helps build and strengthen the prefrontal cortex of the brain. This area influences the way a child learns, solves problems and gains knowledge about their environment. When adults feel overwhelmed, we retreat into activities that soothe us. We go to the gym, sing karaoke with friends, walk around the neighbourhood, weed the garden or play a board game. These activities are more than a distraction. They are a way of bringing play back into our lives and connecting us to the things in life that help ground us.
Children are the same, although they need a lot more playtime. Frequent, daily play can help reduce anxiety, stress and irritability. It also helps boost joy and self-esteem. Adults observing children at play can help them better understand emotions by naming them. It communicates that their feelings and experiences are important.
Play is an excellent teacher. Through play, children learn how to navigate the world in a way they can understand and process.
They explore how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to solve conflicts and to speak up for themselves. Children are born wired to learn language. Starting from birth, they build language and literacy skills through play and interactions. Babies and toddlers learn new words when adults describe what they see, hear and do. Songs and poems connect syllables to beats. This helps children develop listening skills and learn about the sounds in words. Through play, kids learn about communication it's structure.
They get to practise back and forth conversation, even if they can't speak! Sharing stories in books, orally or in make-believe play, helps them understand who they are and their role within the community.
Stories also teach how language works and how narratives are structured. Toys and games are also useful. Playing with small toys helps build the small muscles in hands. This helps with writing.
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