Hellobee

Growing up, I remember going outside often to play. We would ride roller skates, run around our apartment complex, play with mud and make mud pies, or play hopscotch. I also remember playing with Barbies and making clothes for her out of aluminum foil or cotton balls. I would make jewelry out of foil and fur coats out of cotton. Our parents worked long hours so my older brother and I would just play by ourselves for hours after our homework was done. Play was an important part of our young lives.

During a toddler parenting class that I’ve been taking, one of the topics we recently discussed was the importance of play, especially unstructured play. Unstructured play is defined as activities that kids create on their own without adult guidance. Another name for it is free play. These days it seems as though parents are putting their children in different programs and structured environments to play instead of letting them loose and allowing them to play. I know that I am guilty of this as well. Even though I only have a 2 year old, I find myself trying to find programs or activities where she can learn and play. But there has been plenty of research that talks about the importance of giving children time to play.

Just how important is play?

“Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. It allows children to explore the world, practice adult roles, and gain confidence. And it improves children’s social skills as well, by helping them to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.” (via AAP)

It never dawned on me just how important play was. Even as a teacher, I didn’t think too much about the importance of play because there were so many demands during the day that I didn’t have time to think about it. But it’s so crucial for a child’s development to have that time to play. It’s not a waste of time! And even if kids look like they are just running amuck, they are actually learning!

What are they learning as they play?

Socially:

• How to take turns, share, and solve problems.
• About feelings and how they feel.
• How to follow directions and play by the rules.
• How to comfort others.
• How to cooperate and manage conflicts.
• How to see things from someone else’s perspective.

Cognitively:

• Learning letters, numbers, shapes, colors.
• Learning to use their imagination, reason, and problem solving skills.
• Learning language.

Physically:

• Developing their gross and fine motor skills.

Language:

• Developing both receptive (ability to understand) and expressive (ability to communicate) language.

What are the different types of play?

1. Solitary Play is also known as independent play. It is important and normal for children to play by themselves. When they are playing independently, they are learning to concentrate, keep themselves entertained, figure things out on their own, think creatively, and self-regulate. There’s a lot of learning going on! It’s especially common in toddlers since they are in Piaget’s Preoperational Stage and their thinking is typically egocentric. They might also prefer this type of play in early toddlerhood because they lack the necessary communication skills to engage in other types of play.

2. Parallel Play is when two children are playing side by side but not “with” each other. They are in their own little worlds but still aware of the other. During parallel play, they learn peer regulation, observation skills, how to get a long with others, how to work independently, how to give and take, and how to take turns. They might even mimic each other.

3. Cooperative Play occurs when children become interested in the people they are playing with as well as the activity. The activity is organized and everyone has a role or “job.” During this type of play, they are learning about friendship, cooperation, and social norms.

4. Skill Mastery Play is when a child is learning to do something new such as when he/she learns how to throw a ball or ride a bike. They use trial and error to repeat the same skill over and over again until they are able to master it.

5. Sensory Motor Play is the type of play that infants or younger children engage in when they are using their motor skills and their five senses. Babies are more interested in what the object sounds like, feels like, or tastes like than what it does. Playing with water, sand, mud, clay, or play dough are great examples of sensory motor play for toddlers.

6. Rough and Tumble Play is the type of play when children are engaged in physically vigorous activities that change in intensity and energy. Children might start out with playing tag and then start wrestling or tackling each other. Sometimes it might seem like they are fighting but they are really playing. Boys tend to be more physical (wrestling, pinning each other) while girls like playing chase. Children learn a lot of social skills such as boundaries, appropriate social interactions, and being able to read body language.

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When children are not given ample time for play, they are more stressed, anxious and depressed. Some may lack social skills or the ability to communicate effectively. You can’t give them play time all the time, especially when they are of school age, but there needs to be a balance between work and play which we all need to find whether we are children or adults.

Do you find a lot of time to play with your kids or give them ample time to play?