CHILDREN'S PLAY

Play in early childhood is crucial to child development!

Remember your childhood when building dens, playing hide and seek, painting pictures and role-play were exciting and entertaining activities; you had the freedom to explore, investigate and be creative without a care in the world. The term creative play is one to represent the infantile fun and true ‘work’ of children as well as being a central activity to the lives of healthy children (Alm22on 2003).

Play is, irrefutable, the most natural way children discover, explore and learn throughout the world, therefore it is an important aspect to be aware of and ensure children have every opportunity to engross in play and playful experiences (Moyles 2010). It has been argued that play is such a powerful notion that deepens children’s understanding and aids them to learn and fulfil all factors of life as they encounter them (Moyles 2010). Play influences many forms of development within children, for example as babies develop into toddlers and toddlers into children, they acquire abilities in many characteristics of their development, such as intellectual, social, emotional and perceptual motors skills (Macintyre 2001).

My main interest in the phenomena of play lies within the developmental aspect therefore I will be focusing on one of these areas, namely social development. It is suggested by Macintyre (2001) that social development facilitates both cognitive and physical progression within children and is based upon major theories such as the social construct model by Vygotsky, and Bruner’s concept of scaffolding. Both theories state that if children interact with others of higher knowledge, they will be able to progress and learn more effectively than doing so alone.

Almon (2003) argues that a further element in social development is the work of adults themselves as children instinctively mimic grown-ups. This inspires them to take part in role-play or fantasy play, which aids learning and in particular promotes social development and imagination. Bergen (2002) explains how role-play enhances social skills such as taking turns and cooperating with each other, negotiating, communicating and getting the children to use their imagination as well as more complex skills such as rule making; these are all important skills that are required later in life. Role-play can also provide children with the chance to face their fears in a non-threatening or risky way.  

Research has shown that children who do not participant in play at an early age are likely to become socially shy (Howes and Matheson 1992). A number of studies by Rubin and Coplan (1998) observed children who displayed non-social or withdrawn behaviour during preschool; their findings suggested that early social withdrawal predicts isolation, negative self-esteem, social fear, depression and peer rejection in later childhood or young adulthood. They also concluded that poor social development could lead to negative academic success. A further longitudinal study by Howes and Matheson (1992) found that children who engage in complex play at early development are more likely to become pro-social, naturally sociable and less aggressive in later stages of life.   

I have chosen this video clip to emphasise the importance of play; Professor Karen Hutchinson talks about how parents often focus on the education of their children however forget or misunderstand that play is the basis to learning.