This Article Will Outline the following Topics:
• Toys and play help build imagination
• Toys and play aid the development of social skills
• Toys and play aid physical development, both fine & gross motor skills
• Toys and play can assist with the development of problem solving skills
• Playing with toys can contribute towards emotional development in children
• The role of adults playing with children and their toys
Toys and play is the business of childhood, Acredolo 2000 suggests allowing your child some free rein to experiment with the world around them and the emotional world inside them through their toys and play activities. While to the adult it may look like mere child’s play, there’s a lot of work being achieved – problem solving, skill building, overcoming physical and mental challenges – going on behind the scenes. Perhaps one of the greatest attributes of play is the opportunities it affords for learning to live with not knowing, for it is readily recognised that we all learn more effectively through trial and error (Holt 1991) and play is a non-threatening way to cope with new learning and still retain self-esteem and self image.
The importance of toys and play has been recognised for centuries, Maxim Gorki (1868 – 1936) is still recognised today by leading child psychologist and educationalists, for his famous quote “Play is children’s way of perceiving the world they have been called upon to change.”
Young children are fully aware that an activity can be defined as play only with reference to the contexts in which it occurs. This became clear in a study of children playing with toys in kindergarten & prep school in which children were asked to categorise their daily classroom activities as either work or play (King 2007). The responses of the children were remarkably consistent and revealed a sophisticated analysis of the classroom environment. The children categorised most of their classroom activities as work. Work included such apparently different activities as listening to a story, painting, craft, listening to their teacher, making things guided by the teacher and lining up to leave the classroom for outside activities and many more which we won’t list here. Fewer activities were defined as play, and again, the list includes a diverse set of ‘play’ activities including, playing with toys, building with blocks, listening to music, colouring pictures, playing with shape sorters, playing in home corner with toys. The research showed that children enjoyed their play activities but took as much pleasure in the activities that they described as work. Pleasure, then, was not a criterion that differentiated between work and play in kindergarten or prep school.
For these children, the criteria differentiating between work and play depend entirely on the social context.
Examination of this context reveals the two characteristics of play that sharply differentiate it from work. First, play is always voluntary. The children always labelled all activities assigned by teachers as work; only activities the children chose for themselves were called play. Second, work activities are standardised and closely supervised by the teacher. The more aspects of an activity to come under the child’s control, the more likely the child was to label the activity play. If the child freely chose the activity and the materials in most cases toys, and if the child controlled the course of events and the duration of his or her involvement, the activity was considered play by all the kindergartners and prep children.
Although most of the children spoke enthusiastically about most of the classroom activities they labelled work, they spoke more energetically and spontaneously about their play activities. They particularly liked the play activities involving toys.
As far back as the 1550’s Michel de Montaigne (1533 – 1592) stated, “Children’s playing should be deemed as their most serious actions.”
This article shares with you some of things your child is experiencing and learning through toys and play, along with tips on how you can boost the benefits of their play.
Toys and play help build imagination
Pretending, or imaginative play, is one of the cornerstones of a young child's world. Almost anything can spur your child's imagination, including everyday objects and, of course their favourite toys. This is because the child uses them as symbols, says Acredolo; the child’s learning that one thing can stand for other things. Using this new ability to pretend, the child can transform a block of wood into a boat, a few pots and pans into a drum set the stuffed plush toy into a wild jungle animal and the cube blocks into a castle.
Everyday objects and their collection of toys aren't the only things that are transformed in your child's make-believe world. So are the roles he or she assumes during play. The child will move from superhero to daddy to police officer to fairy to mother with ease. By experimenting with diverse jobs and identities, the child is able to explore a variety of scenarios and outcomes. Sometimes the stories he or she acts out reflect issues the child is struggling to understand, says Patty Wipfler 2002. If your child is coming to terms with a new sibling, for example, he or she may incorporate a lot of nurturing behaviours into their play, mimicking your interaction with the new brother or sister. Imaginative play gives your child a sense of control as he or she interprets the dramas of everyday life and practices the rules of social behaviour. For instance the Kaloo or Mamas & Papas Rag Doll would make the perfect toy for your little one to use during pretend family play.
How you can encourage imaginative play: Keep a box of everyday items that your child can use during pretend play. Kid toy versions of adult objects, such as play telephones, Alex Tin Tea set, soft plush toys and animals help facilitate role-playing.
Albert Einstein (1879 – 1955) “Imagination is more important than knowledge.” Remember his words when you next see your child doing pretend play in their imaginary world.
Toys and play aid the development of social skills
As toddlers, children play side by side without obvious communication (this is called parallel play) they are each happy to play individually with the toys. During the preschool years, they start to interact with each other by creating complex story lines together. As they do this, they learn to negotiate, cooperate, and share the toys (though some kids don't master the art of sharing until they're 4 to 6 years old). When children disagree about who gets to play with particular toys, they're actually developing important social skills, says Sara Wilford, director of the Early Childhood Program at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.
How you can boost social play: Once your child settles into kindergarten, preschool or prep school or you join a playgroup he or she will find playmates there. But your child needs your help to extend those relationships by scheduling playgroup or play dates at your house. Make sure you are organised by selecting the toys and games or activities that the children can play with. Remember it is a good idea to put the special toys or your child’s favourite toy away, to avoid breakages.
Then unobtrusively monitor the children's behaviour and progress. After the play date, you'll know which social skills your child is mastering (sharing, cooperating, or being assertive, for example) and which he or she may need some help with. Watching children play with toys can give you an amazing insight into their social skill abilities.
Jean Piaget (1896 – 1980) “Play teaches children to master the world.” As parents we don’t necessarily want our children to master the world, but we do need them to be able to effectively function in society.
Toys and play aid physical development, both fine & gross motor skills
Different types of physical play and different toys help develop different skills: Skipping takes balance, for example; climbing monkey bars builds strength; and sports activities involve coordination. Large motor skills, such as running, throwing, and peddling, improve first, but fine motor skills aren't far behind. A 3-year-old carefully stacking blocks into towers is not only learning about gravity and balance but also developing hand-eye coordination. And the dexterity your child develops during play carries over into everyday life: After some practice, a 3-year-old will be able to help dress and feed themselves, which gives him or her a sense of independence. Toys such as wooden blocks, block puzzles, jigsaws, shape sorters and construction toys etc are all toys, which can help build fine motor skills.
There's a non-physical benefit of physical play too: It helps kids work through stress and crankiness. In fact, without adequate time for active play, your child may become grumpy or tense (not to mention possibly obese).
How you can promote physical play: The best way to get your child moving is to set a good example. This starts at home by engaging in physical activities rather than sedentary ones such as watching TV. Indoors, you can play hide-and-seek, toss small beanbags toys or small soft plush toys in gentle yet active play, or play some danceable music. Outdoors, build a castle in the sandbox, kick a soccer ball back and forth, ride your bike/tricycle together.
Toys and play can assist with the development of problem solving skills
Problem solving uses critical thinking skills, which leads to further questioning and hypothesizing. Problem solving is cognitive in nature and children can benefit with the development of this skill by playing with toys such as puzzles, jigsaws, blocks, shape sorters and construction toys such as Superstructs or Lego. Playing with these types of toys is a matter of gaining experience. Of preparing for life – and learning about life – learning problem solving through playing with toys. Adults can do much to help children along the way. By providing them with good play opportunities, for example; ample time for play and good toys. Toys which inspire the child to tackle the problem, toys which challenge the imagination, toys which force your child to think, toys which encourage the child to make demands upon itself and test its abilities – just as it must do in the adult world, where the results one achieves are of prime importance. The combination of child and the above listed types of toys is an exciting opportunity for your child. The encounter between mind and material initiates a creative activity that in turn becomes a problem solving activity.
Playing with toys can contribute towards emotional development in children
Long before children can express their feelings in words, they express them through physical play; especially role-play with their toys, storytelling, art, and other activities. When children have experiences that are hurtful or hard to understand, they review those experiences again and again through play. For example, says Wipfler, “if your child is pushed or has something snatched away from him or her, or perhaps scolded by a parent they may not understand what just happened. If, the next day, or in the near future you’re witnessing your child playing with his or her toys and you watch the behaviour and listen to their play talk, they may be trying to work out what was experienced by them”. Often through playing with toys a child will treat the toys as they experience how they are treated themselves. This concept aids the child in processing emotions and aids them to develop mechanisms for dealing with emotions.
How you can help: During play, your child will expose little bits of behaviour he or she needs guidance with or doesn't understand. You can respond in kind, mimicking the right type of response. Join in the play, interact with the toy doll or soft plush toy and talk to them and treat them in an appropriate manner with an acceptable tone of voice. Basically teach your children through play, lead by example with his or her toys. And, remember to try to get your child to laugh, after all playing with toys is serious fun, with an emphasis on fun.
The role of adults when playing with children and their toys
Wipfler says it's helpful to allow your child to lead during play. "Let your child determine what to do and how to do it within the limits of safety and time constraints," she says. "This lets them try out their judgment and allows him or her to show you what they delighted in." Join in your child's play, but only when invited to do so. As he or she lets you into their world of make-believe, give him or her complete control. In real life, you may be in charge, but this is their world.
The attention you show your child when you play together is key to building your child’s self-esteem, says Wilford. For example, when you pretend along with him or her, you are showing your child that you accept his or her make-believe world, that something they are interested in is fun and important to you, too.
Einenberg, Murkoff & Hathaway, 2003 p321 Suggest give child’s play and children’s toys a chance. When it’s been decades since you’ve been a child, it’s naturally difficult to summon up what it feels like to be a two-year old at play. Difficult, but not impossible. Join your toddler with your mind already closed to having a good time, and you most assuredly won’t have one. Make a conscious effort to shake your staid adult ways and allow yourself to wander into the world of childhood innocence and imagination, and you may actually find yourself enjoying your child’s toys and games. When you do play with your child give her or him your complete attention. Learn how to play with their toys their way. Just because you have been invited to join their game doesn’t mean you get to make up the rules. Toddlers and small children have very definite ideas about how they’d like their play to progress, so it’s important not to interfere. We leave you with the following quote for your future consideration when next your child asks you to play.
“Parents should play much more with their children. Because people who can’t play can’t be much good at their work either.” Author Unknown – Boy Aged 11 years.
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