How Does Play Influence Child Development

Play is defined in various ways. An adult’s perspective of play will not be the same as a child’s outlook of play. Play is a major feature of childhood and can be expressed in multiple ways. Some examples are playing outside, playing board games, playing with play doh or sand, playing football or soccer, pretend play with imaginary friends or playing with music. Every child engages in play, learns through play and develops as a person, through play with siblings, parents or other children. Children play because it allows them to make new friends, to explore new textures, it passes time for them in a fun way and it gives them an opportunity to develop new skills, e.g. communication skills through communicating

Children play with parents, grandparents, siblings, friends, early year’s educators and imaginary friends. If children do not have a companion to play with, they create an imaginary companion. To children, this is the same as having a companion in real life, and it shows us that playing alone is not so bad after all. It is useful to define play from a child’s perspective because they do not realise that they are learning through play. They see it as a fun experience and not as a learning activity. Something as simple as playing with play doh as a child is fun, even though they are improving their ability to learn new textures and to explore and observe new items. Through play, children can also work together and bond, form new understandings of objects, e.g. if you touch a ball it will roll, and be encouraged by peers about exploring new words and forming sentences. Playing enhances children’s creativity by playing alone and forming imaginary characters. It also helps their mental health and supports their cognitive development. Playing with different object’s amuses children and allows them to discover new smells, new textures, see new objects, hear new sounds and new tastes in some