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Why is play important?
Why do children play?
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- Play lays the foundation for literacy. Through play children learn to make and practise new sounds. They try out new vocabulary, on their own or with friends, and exercise their imagination through storytelling.
- Play is learning. Play nurtures development and fulfils a baby’s inborn need to learn. Play takes many forms, from shaking a rattle to peek-a-boo to hide-and-seek.
- Play encourages adults to communicate with the children in their lives. Adults support play by giving children opportunities to play, and by knowing when to intervene, and when not to intervene.
- Play gives children the chance to be spontaneous. You may think your child should be rolling the truck on the ground but that doesn’t mean that truck is not equally useful as a stacking toy.
Sep 19, 2023 · Play is an incredible motivator. It's where children learn and challenge themselves. Play lets children choose to explore and discover new things.”. Play supports learning, growth, and development — design for it. Play is “core to the human development experience,” says Bonawitz, who hopes educators will consider that when designing ...
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- Preschoolers
- School-Age Kids
Playing with young children may seem hard — after all, babies cannot sit, crawl, walk, talk, or stand. But according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), playful learning can start with baby’s first smile. “At this stage, children are most interested in faces — and learning how to make these faces smile at them and laugh,” Jumaily says. “Ba...
As your child grows, their play options increase. Toddlers love brightly colored objects, like age-appropriate balls, cars, and blocks. Puzzles are a great choice, as are simple artistic supplies, and pretend play is excellent for children of this age. “You should encourage toddlers to engage in pretend playusing dolls, blocks, common household obj...
Preschool-age children are staunchly independent. They have an understanding of the world, and their place in it, and for that reason, much of their play at this age is self-drivenand structured. “Preschool age children are striving for independence in everything they do,” Jumaily says. “Parents will often notice that they insist not only on choosi...
Much like preschoolers, elementary and middle school-age kids are very independent. They are also very focused on school-based activities. However, play is still integral to their development. “School-age kids need play too,” Wheeler Poitevien says. “Encourage outside play with a ball or bubbles, or plan a family game night. LEGO sets, Kinex, and o...
Though free play is all about independence, parents can support and encourage their children in having a fun, playful learning experience. Make sure your child has a safe space to play in. When playing freely, children should have the chance to explore and do most things on their own to build confidence and independence.
Aug 13, 2021 · Let the children play. Research on the importance of play, digested. As children head back to school, teachers and parents will of course be concerned about kids catching up on their education after the Covid-19 lockdowns. But, as many psychologists have pointed out, they need to catch up on play, too. So what does the research tell us about ...
Play Is a Biological Drive. Jaak Panksepp, a prominent neuroscientist, identified seven foundational brain circuits that are primary emotions we are born with, like fear, care, panic and play. These primal emotions are with us at birth, pre-wired in our midbrain—an ancient part of the human brain. The instinct to play is built into our ...
Apr 19, 2022 · It’s important for children to have plenty of different types of play experiences. This includes unstructured and structured play, indoor and outdoor play, solo and group play, craft and creative play, and so on. When children get variety, it’s good for all aspects of their learning and development – physical, social, emotional and ...
