Unstructured Play

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This essay will give an insight into the developmental aspects of unstructured play in children aged 1-2 and 4-5. It will cover the importance of, and types of play in children, then move further into how play positively affects development. I will cover the three topics of physical development and movement, behaviour and learning, and language and thinking for each age group.

Play is a crucial aspect of successful development in the early years of childhood, with a significant contribution to a child’s ability for empathy, conflict management, physical ability and emotional regulation (Hoffnung, Hoffnung, Siefert, Hine, Ward, Pausé, Burton & Smith, 2016). Unstructured play can be identified by spontaneity, flexibility, active engagement …show more content…

At age 4 – 5, functional play has faded, and children now participate mainly in pretence play, and occasionally games with simple rules (Bergin & Bergin, 2015). Pretence play, also known as dramatic or fantasy play, involves imagination of emotions, identities and objects, and acting out games or situations. Another common dimension of dramatic play, primarily in boys, is rough and tumble play (Bergin & Bergin, 2015; Robinson, 2008). This includes an imagination, or imitation of superheros for example, and tackling, pushing and chasing with positive intentions. Physical play allows children to develop agility, strength and coordination, and learn to control their emotions (Robinson, 2008). The social dimension of play also develops significantly as a child gets older, and learns to communicate. Cooperative play begins to prevail as children learn that they can play with each-other to bring greater joy than playing …show more content…

Toddlers are always willing to learn, or to touch/play with something new, and the consequences of their play will help them learn whether it is acceptable, through motivation and information. For example, if a toddler goes down a slide, they experience enjoyment, therefore is motivated to do it again, but if a child attempts to play with the buttons on an oven and gets burnt or told off, they will gather the information that playing with an oven isn’t acceptable. (pg 54) At such a young age, with little cognitive development, parental warmth and involvement is crucial in creating positive behaviour of a child (Smith, 2013). By providing an encouraging environment, such as a ratio of six positive comments to one negative comment whilst a child is playing, a child learns acceptable behaviour by understanding what’s right, whilst parents are still conveying what is inappropriate and not encouraging

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