And why is playing important for children?
How important is playing for child development? The simple answer is Vital! Playing for children is not wasted time, nor is it simply for pleasure or relaxation, which is what adults may feel about it in the context of work life balance. For children playing IS their job.
There is a vast amount of research on this topic and it informs us about, not only the role of playtime, but also the approach to teaching, as evident in the Montessori method, among others. This is not only about play as such but also self-selection and regulation of activities, both academic and play orientated. One could argue that the secret is to make learning fun and children will be engaged. When it comes to play at least, the fun should be baked in but this is where the self-selection comes to the fore. Children have to be allowed to make their own playtime choices or it will not be fun for them. While as parents we can suggest, encourage and offer options that may promote education, forcing is not productive. Well we know this as adults too so why would our children be any different… If you want some more information on self-selection and much more about child learning see our posts series on the UNESCO report on how children learn.
So how vital is play to child development and why is it so important? Play is so vital to child development that it has been recognized by the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights as a right of every child [Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Convention on the Rights of the Child. General Assembly Resolution 44/25 of 20 November 1989].
“No single set of guidelines could do justice to the many factors that impact on children’s play” – [The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds, Kenneth R. Ginsburg, MD, MSEd, THE AMERICAN ACADEMY OF PEDIATRICS| JANUARY 01 2007].
Ginsberg goes on to explain how vital and important play is far better than I ever could,
“Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adult caregivers. As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges. Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills. When play is allowed to be child driven, children practice decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue. Ideally, much of play involves adults, but when play is controlled by adults, children acquiesce to adult rules and concerns and lose some of the benefits play offers them, particularly in developing creativity, leadership, and group skills. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies. In fact, it has been suggested that encouraging unstructured play may be an exceptional way to increase physical activity levels in children, which is one important strategy in the resolution of the obesity epidemic. Perhaps above all, play is a simple joy that is a cherished part of childhood.”
Clearly there are almost innumerable benefits of play for children but in summary it can be said that to have good physical and mental health and to learn life skills, our children need various unstructured play opportunities from birth until they’re teenagers. This may be alone, with other children or with parents or caregivers. One thing we all intuitively know for sure, from our own childhood memories, is how important it is to children to have opportunities to play with their parents. Parents are the ones children look to first for instruction and direction on what is true and right in the world. While they must play with friend as well the time spent playing with parents is also vital both for the development of their world view and the creation of family group bonds and a sense of security and belonging. This play can include pure play the child self-selects but also other activities like learning to ride a bike learning to swim, cooking and other activities such as puzzles and more academic work like writing, if you make a game out of it.
Active involvement of parents in such activities has multiple benefits for child development and while it can be difficult for busy, exhausted parent to respond to demands for playtime from their children it is, well, our job and duty to them.
At Little Wriggler we have several video series where we showcase various developmental playtime and engagement activities including playing with toys and puzzles. And while pure playing for fun reaps the benefits the academics refer to, the addition of fun educational playing has the added benefit of stimulating a thirst for knowledge and instilling a desire to learn from an early age. How important is playing for child development? Vital!
Little Wriggler - Toys, Puzzles & Games playlist
Comments