Importance Of Play In Child Development

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Play and the development of children will be defined and explored. To gain an understanding of the functions of play in the early childhood setting, emphasize the importance of play for children's intellectual, emotional and social growth. The definition of play is difficult to pinpoint. Play is defined as an activity engaged in for enjoyment and recreation with no goal imposed from the outside, to be spontaneous, voluntary and instinctively motivating, and must have a nonliteral orientation (Lillard, Angeline S.). Development is defined as a specified state of growth or advancement.
Play is believed to be a crucial stepping stone in child development by most Americans. Each journal reviewed, states play is an integral part of various skill …show more content…

Skills gained through peer interaction include: friendships, social skills, problem-solving, social knowledge, social interaction, self-esteem, and social acceptance. (Spinrad, Tracy L.) Children pretend by misrepresenting the world during play. Examples of pretend play include, empty cups that contain tea, dolls eat food, they themselves are tigers. Children may practice various cognitive, narrative, and creative abilities. They would learn self-control and how things work in the world. “Studies on children’s inductive inferences have shown that children extend properties learned about one animal to other members of its kind, but no distantly related kinds of animals” (Sutherland, Shelbie …show more content…

Guided and spontaneous play helps children to gain social, personal, and life skills. Each one of the categories are equally important and crucial to the development of children.

Works Cited
Coon, D., & Mitterer, J.O. (2015). Psychology: Modules for Active Learning. Australia: Cengage Learning

Lillard, Angeline S., et al. (2012) The Impact of Pretend Play on Children’s Development: A Review of the Evidence. American Psychology Association.

Massey, Susan L. (17 Apr. 2012) From the Reading Rug to the Play Center: Enhancing Vocabulary and Comprehensive Language Skills by Connecting Storybook Reading and Guided Play. SpringerLink, Springer Netherlands.

Mastrangelo, Sonia. Play and the Child with Autism Spectrum Disorder: From Possibilities to Practice. International Journal of Play Therapy, vol. 18, no. 1, 2009, pp. 13-30.

Spinrad, Tracy L., et al. The Relation of Children’s Everyday Nonsocial Peer Play Behavior to Their Emotionality, Regulation, and Social Functioning, Developmental Psychology, vol. 40, no.1, 2004, pp. 66-80.

Sutherland, Shelbie L., and Ori Friedman. Just Pretending Can Be Really Learning: Children Use Pretend Play as a Source for Acquiring Generic Knowledge.

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