Playing develops your child

To an adult, it might seem like a waste of time or just an activity that children use to pass time, but playing has many benefits for your child than you could have ever imagined. Besides, it being an enjoyable activity, playing builds and develops a child in a significant way. When children play, they happily lose themselves; are in their own realm of wonder, exploration and adventure.

A learning opportunity

As early as infancy, children immerse themselves in play activities with the purpose of making sense of the world around them. Play gives children the opportunity to learn and experience things themselves, which is vital for their development. Instead of them sitting down and being glued to the TV, encourage your child to go out there and explore the world and have lots of fun playing.

Stages of play

Toddlers experience a motor-growth spurt which sees them fiddling with anything they can get their hands on. Toddlers also love breaking into song, wiggling and jiggling to tunes. For them this is what play is made of and as they grow and become pre-schoolers, they start involving other people to play with them and they are intrigued by anything from table games to outdoor pursuits. As they reach, school-going age children start appreciating organised play such as innovated songs and rhymes, games with rules, relays and other physical activities, sports and projects that they can accomplish over a certain time frame.

Play attention

As a parent you have to encourage and support your child’s playtime. Have a play plan and If you seem to have little time for playing with your child, consider using self-care chores to have fun with him or her. Also, get support from other people in your household, like older siblings or the child’s grandparents, so that they understand why play is important and how they should continue to encourage it. When your child wants to play, let them initiate their activity, set their own theme, choose the parameters where the play will take place.

Problem solving

Play becomes an avenue for children to express their feelings and be in control. You need to allow your child to be an independent thinker and playing can help with that. When playing and they encounter a problem, don’t immediately come to the rescue with a solution. Ask your child questions that lead them to a solution. For example. If they are struggling putting the pieces of a puzzle together, allow them to discover their mistakes and make errors. Ask them leading questions that will eventually see them solving the puzzle. Praise them when they have solved the problem.

Benefits of play

Ask any child what they got up to at school and their response will feature playing. It gives them a sense of joy. Above the feeling of happiness, play has numerous benefits for your child.

Play fosters socio-emotional learning

What does a ten-month-old baby who shrieks at the sight of her stuffed toy have in common with a ten-year-old boy who plays basketball with his friends? They both deal with their confidence as they choose to embark on their play activities. At the same time, they are displaying their independence in the decisions that they make. These two children are also internalising social rules in their respective play situations: the baby waits patiently for her stuffed toy to appear, while the school-age child has to contend with an impending loss in a ball game.

Play hones physical and motor development

Play often involves the use of the senses, the body, and the extremities. When children play, they exercise their bodies for physical strength, fluidity of movement, balance and coordination. The capacity to coordinate what you perceive with how you move, is an essential skill that pre-schoolers need to develop. A three-year-old who is engrossed in digging, scooping, and pouring sand into a container must match his or her perception of the space in front of him or her with actual hand movements, so that he or she can successfully fulfil the motor activity.

Play facilitates cognitive learning

Play is vital to the intellectual development of a child. We live in a symbolic world in which people need to decode words, actions, and numbers. For young children, symbols do not naturally mean anything because they are just arbitrary representations of actual objects. The role of play is for the child to understand better cognitive concepts in ways that are enjoyable, real, concrete, and meaningful to them. For instance, through play, a child is able to comprehend that the equation 3 + 2 = 5 means putting together his toy cars by lining them up in his makeshift parking lot. When he combines 2 triangles to make a square during block play, or writes down his score is a bowling game, the child is displaying what he knows about shapes and numbers. Through play, the child is constructing his or her worldview by constantly working and reworking his understanding of concepts.

Play enhances language development

Toddlers who are still grappling with words need to be immersed in oral language so they can imitate what they hear. They benefit from songs and rhymes that provide the basis for understanding how language works.  When these tots are playing with toys, adults model to them how language is used to label objects or describe an event. At play, pre-schoolers use language to interact, communicate ideas, and likewise learn from dialogues with more mature members of society.

Play encourages creativity

Barney the dinosaur was right about using imagination to make things happen. A lump of Play-Doh suddenly turns into spaghetti with meat sauce and cheese; a small towel transforms into a cape that completes a superhero’s wardrobe; and a tin can serves as a drum that accompanies an aspiring rock artist. Play opens an entire avenue for children to express themselves, show what they know and how they feel, and to create their own masterpieces. What are you waiting for? Get your child to give you the TV remote and go out there and get dirty and play.