My views on the importance of play to a child’s development

Play has not received as much support and research as it should.  The benefits of play are not simplistic but very intricate and essential to the development of a child.  Through my reading and listening to videos I have learned so much more about play that I had not known or realized before.  I have learned after listening to Dr. Gopnik that it is best to allow children to learn and explore on their own instead of modeling and always showing them how different things work.  She specifically said that by allowing children to explore toys and games on their own independently we are helping them to find out more than one way of doing things instead of placing them into a box and showing them only one way of doing things (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013).  Dr. Gopnik further elaborated on how play, specifically pretend play, is essential to helping children to develop and understand relationships and people.  Children are able to learn complex concepts, such as theory of mind, by engaging in pretend play and exploring other worlds.  When children play they play passionately and place a lot of their emotions into their play.  Therefore they also are able to understand the concept of having and displaying emotions through pretend play (Laureate Education, Inc., 2013).  When play is combined with other avenues in life the development of a child is enhanced.  The International Play Association states that, “play, recreation, rest, leisure and involvement in cultural and artistic life are all interrelated and critical to a happy, healthy childhood (2012).  Play also assists children with developing even higher executive functions such as, self-control.   Children in a preschool classroom were analyzed while engaging with one another.   Researchers found that the children waited for their turn, held back when they were becoming frustrated and waited for all members of a group to completely write a title.  All of these factors helped build a child’s self-control and may not have been evident if the children were required to sit at desks, listen to a teacher lecture, and perform all things in scheduled routines.  (Tough, P., 2009).

I have just shared some specific information with you in regards to the importance of play.  What are your views on the importance of play to a child’s development.  Do you think relationships/attachments are more important than play?  Why or why not?

References

International Play Association: Promoting the child’s right to play. (n.d.) Retrieved October 19, 2012, From http://ipaworld.org

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2013).  A conversation about child development {Video File}. Baltimore, MD: Author

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2013). Development and culture {Video file}. Baltimore, MD: Author.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2013). Studying child development: Lessons learned {Video file}. Baltimore, MD: Author