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How play affects a child's development
“The Importance of Play in Early Childhood Development essay
The importance of play in early childhood programs
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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
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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.
Exploring How Psychologists Study the Role of Play in Child Development Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, New Edition, 1995 defines “play” as: “[Children] when children play, they do things that they enjoy, often together or with toys. ” Play is one of the most powerful vehicles children have for trying out and mastering new social skills, concepts and experiences. Psychologists, such as Faulkner (1995), present evidence that play is seen as a mean of developing social skills and interpersonal relationships with others. The first section of the essay will present the different approaches psychologists use in the quest to learn about the role of children’s play and their related issues. This section will briefly define the nature of play and the different types of play that influence social development.
For example, play such as climbing, skipping, running, and hopping assist in the development of the child’s gross motor skills. Similarly, cutting with scissors, and drawing assist in the further development of the child’s fine motor skills (Davies, 2011). In addition, play is instrumental in social development. Preschool children learn values of prosocial behavior such as comforting, helping, controlling aggression, and sharing via cooperative play. For example, turn taking is an important aspect of play that fosters sharing, moral reasoning, control of aggression, and conflict resolution because it is an essential aspect to the child’s establishment friendships and maintenance of relationships (Davies, 2011). Consequently, because friends spend more time playing together, they have more conflicts but are more likely to negotiate a solution. Ultimately, because of the child’s desire to be accepted and valued by peers, conflicts become opportunities for the child to learn how to, control aggression, share, and resolve
..., J., & Garzoli, E. (2007, November 11). The Effectiveness of a Play-Based Curriculum in Early Childhood Education. Retrieved from http://teachplaybasedlearning.com/8.html
Play helps build sturdy learning foundations because later levels of learning are built upon the earlier ones. All types of play, from fantasy to rough-and-tumble have a crucial role in the development of children. It is the lens through which children experience their world and the world of others. If deprived to play, they are at bigger possibility for atypical development and deviant behavior. Without play, self-control does not develop satisfactorily Goldstein, J. (2012)
A major question that is continuously being researched and observed is whether children’s play is beneficial to children’s development. While many scientists have proved that play is, in fact, helpful in the development of children, I want to research how the different types of play affect children’s development, specifically children that are transitioning from late infancy to toddlerhood. The four different types of play that I will focus on observing is exploratory and manipulative play, functional or relational play, social play routines and pretend play. Furthermore, I would observe the children’s agency during their play and the social structures that can prevent children from playing, thus, resulting in lack of development.
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:
For all living beings play is an instinctive biological disposition, which helps to facilitate and enrich children’s overall development. As well as play being beneficial in assisting individual lives, many theorists as well as researchers have shown play to form a fundamenta...
...Fein, G. G. 1981. Pretend play in childhood: An integrative review. Child development, pp. 1095--1118.
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
Thinking back on my childhood, I first remember all the times I played outside in my backyard. I would pretend to dig up dinosaur bones or create imaginary realms of ancient lands; there I would perform diplomatic services for the people in need. I was usually alone, and those are some of my fondest memories. When I first decided to become a teacher and thought about what is important to my philosophy on how children learn, I immediately knew I was a strong believer in play. Although, many decision makers such as legislators and school district leaders believe in more academic types of learning styles, my paper will discuss why play is so powerful and important to children.
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)
Play directly influences how children develop both emotionally and socially. Children learn how to express their emotions and cope with their feelings as they experiment with different characters in their play. Play gives children a “harmless outlet to their built up aggression” (CHETN). This is displayed when a child becomes angry, upset, or stressed about a situation in their lives; these young children may not be old enough or have the proper communication tools to communicate what they are feeling. Therefor they may choose to play with objects that depict the emotions that they are feeling and attempt to cope. Simply said, a child will use play to explain how they are feeling rather than acting out in a negative fashion (Wehrman 351). This not only works for the child when expressing emotions, it can also be effective for whole families in coping with emotions. When families come together and play they may be “less analytical and intellectual and more ...
...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.
Exercising the imagination through pretending helps children to understand and integrate into the world around them. By participating in creative play, children become more expressive and more able to comprehend complex social situations and conflicts. It improves a child’s intellect as he or she is able to improve problem solving and coping skills. Physically, it allows children to fine-tune motor skills, and emotionally, it leads to an outlet for emotion and to positive socialization (Miller). But television watching and playing on the computer has begun to replace creative play.
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.