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Psychosocial theory of play
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Play is a verb that describes when one “engages in an activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose”. (Oxford Dictionary 2014) Play relates to the notion of “having fun” and defines the idea of “frivolity, light hearted, chaotic, free and open (child’s play), repetitive (ritual/child’s play/instrument), leisurely, productive, non-productive (opposite of work), creative, profane, sacred, innocent, competitive, interpretive, simulation, improvisation, happy (opposite of depression).” (Chau 2014) Play is an aspect of game. Game on the other hand is a noun that explains “a form of competitive activity or sport played according to rules”. (Oxford Dictionary 2014) Game is a play activity with rules that involves challenges and creates a form of distraction and diversion in the players’ lives. Given the definition, there are a few ways in which ‘play’ and ‘games’ can be different from one another.
The first difference is that play is often. It is free-formed and voluntary. “Play is superfluous. The need for it is only urgent to the extent that the enjoyment if it makes it a need. Play can be deferred or suspended at any time. It is never imposed by physical necessity or moral duty. It is never a task. It is done at leisure, during “free time”. (Huizinga 1955) According to Huizinga, “play is something added to or spread over life” in which “we are able to choose courses of action and to adjust those courses based on the internal satisfactions we receive.” (Henricks 2006)
Besides, play consists of different types of activity for one’s own pleasure and enjoyment. Examples are such as cycling, flying a kite, performing and so on. Furthermore, play is not limited to just humans. Mammals tend to play too....
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...t goals (Juul, 2003, p.39).” (Mildenberger 2013) An example of a game that has no definite goals and in a sense is unwinnable is SimCity. As Greg Costikyan observes, SimCity “has no inherent ‘win-state’, no explicit, built-in goal for the game. SimCity works because it allows players to choose their own goal, and supports a wide variety of possible goals.” (Lee 2003) However, SimCity is still considered a game as “there is a tendency that the positive outcomes are harder to reach than the negative outcomes - this is what makes a game challenging; a game where it was easier to reach the goal than not to reach it would likely not be played very much.” (Juul 2003)
In conclusion, there are ways in which ‘play’ and ‘games’ are different. The concept of play is building a world of make believes whereas games, is a system of rules optimizing challenges and strategies.
Stuart Brown’s book Play describes noteworthy of play in the lives of animals and humans and how free play develops the social skills in children that are necessary for creative thinking later in life. He used his observations of animals in play to explain the role of play in brain development and social integration.
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).
An Article by Dr. Leong and Dr. Bodrova (2016) stated that play is beneficial to children’s learning especially when it reaches a certain degree of complexity. When they engage in play activities most of their early years, they learn to delay gratification and to prioritize their goals and actions. They also learn to consider the perspectives and needs of other people and to represent things significantly to regulate their behavior and actions in a cautious, intentional way.
All children play and it is something that most children do because they are having fun, but without realising children are developing and learning skills when they are engaged in play. Play helps stimulate the mind as it is practical and gives children the chance to explore and experience new situations. It can also ensure that children get to think by themselves and be spontaneous as they control their own play. Children get the chance to be creative and imaginative which develops independence for children. Play is vital for child development and helps children develop five main areas of development:
Today 40% of children suffer from ADHD, while 60% suffer from depression(Institute 3). Simple remedy: Structured Play. Structured play: is a type of play that is goal/objective based and generally has a structure as to how it should be carried out (Nelson Par 8). Contrary to structured play there is the idea of unstructured play. Unstructured play is a type of play that is unplanned which is the primary reason it is also termed as ‘spontaneous play’ or ‘free play’. This type of lacks adult supervision and guidance (Nelson Par 9). Over the last few years there has been a debate on whether early childhood playtime should be structured or unstructured. Early childhood playtime should be structured
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
The book, Exploring Your role in Early Childhood Education, defines play as, “any activity that is freely chosen, meaningful, active, enjoyable, and open-ended.”(pg. 140) Play has many positive characteristics such as freedom to explore and create. Suppose when a child enters his/her classroom and has various self-selection activities available, the child can become engaged in something of interest specifically to that individual child. The book also states, “Play is active and is natural process of mentally and actively doing something.”(pg. 140) When children can act out or explore experiences they are having hands on experience and learning by actually doing. Without knowing it, children are practicing body movements as well as mental processing though acting imaginary games out.
What is play? Play is defined as engaging in activates for enjoyment & recreation rather than a serious practical purpose. Playing is a disorganized voluntary spontaneous activity, which may include objects, one’s body, symbol usage, and relationships. Play is flexible, individualize, grouped, motivating, self-directed, open-ended, or self-directed. (Smith, 2013) (Saskatchewan Ministry of Education, 2010)
...ctive. Play is an essential learning tool and one that must not be ignored within the classroom. It is a catalyst to help children develop socially, emotionally, physically and cognitively. It is not only an important part of a child’s development as a pupil but also a child’s development as an individual.
In life, no action is absent of a reaction. Every effect is linked to a cause, whether seen or unseen and play is no exception. As adults, play is not a foreign concept to us, we just chose not to engage in it and have diminutive space for it reserved in our day-to-day schedules. However, it is essential in the lives of young children. In the moment, the benefits to play are invisible, yet they are there working. Play, like a Newton’s cradle, remains stationary while not in use and the energy remains in a potential state waiting to be activated. Now, imagine the Newton’s cradle as you are pulling back the first ball. The first ball is play in a child’s life, and the other balls are potential benefits.
Before diving into my research, I reflected on the knowledge I already knew regarding play and play based learning. From experience, I know that play is an enjoyable activity for children, and even some adults. I know that there are different ways one can play. For example, playing with others is known as cooperative play and playing alone is considered solitary play. There are different types of play. For example, there is dress up or pretend games, which is considered dramatic, play and there is playing with building blocks which is constructive play. After my reflection I realized that I was more knowledgeable on the action of playing rather then the benefits of it.
SUMMURY Marketing is an important element of a business plan. As a man needs food to survive, business needs marketing to succeed. According to Dibb, Simkin, Pride, and Ferrell, ‘Marketing consists of individual and organizational activities that facilitate and expedite satisfying exchange relationships in a dynamic environment through the creation, distribution, promotion and pricing of good, services and ideas’(Dibb). Our product ‘Playhaler’ is an anxiety decreasing pressurized metered-dose-inhaler (MDI) asthma administration device, which helps in controlling asthma in young children.
Based on an essay analysis written by Peter Gray, pure play occurs more often in children than in adults. In adults, play is commonly blended with other motives, having to do with adult responsibilities (Gray, 2008). The latter is a reason that play is an activity with that grown man do with and intention and not for relaxation and while leisure is and activity to allow the mind to have a sense of freedom and creativity but not intention, play is somewhat different from leisure. But leisure and play are similar in a sense that both help build certain attributes of people like increasing the social circle of an individual through social bonding. Austin Health (Austin Health Victoria, 2015) site states that leisure also gives people the chance to develop skills, friendships, and self-confidence and helps to enjoy new experiences, challenges and adventures and to stay healthy.
A very wise man; Charles Schaefer, once said “We are never more fully alive, more completely ourselves, or more deeply engrossed in anything than when we are playing.” To begin with, there is no one explanation about what play really is, other than the fact that it holds infinite numbers of definitions according to every single individual. Play is just not a physical body movement involved in an activity, but more than that if you look outside of the box. For centuries, play has been practiced in its own unique way with not only children, but adults as well.
In Kindergarten school, some parent believes play is the best way for young children to learn the conceptions, skills, and set a solid foundation for later school and life success. In the other hand, many parents disagree and believe play is a waste of time, messy, noisy, and uneducationall. I believe play is not waste of time, but it something worth to fight for, in this presentation I would show parent the main importance of some of the numerous kinds of play, and why play is a fundamental basis for improving children’s ability to succeed in school and life.