From play, kids can develop all sorts of skills - emotional, social, physical, fine-motor
Despite the occasional extreme summer heat, children are out of school and looking forward to some unstructured time. This week, the following information came from main campus that I thought was really interesting. This is from Peter Gray, a research professor at Boston University.
“It’s really the first time in human history that children have not been free to do a lot of independent things. Children are designed to grow up with independence, so over the last few decades, we’ve been doing things in a way that’s historically abnormal. ... There are certain obvious ways in which play is essential for mental health. First, play makes kids happy, and you really don’t have to do research to know that. If you take play away from kids, they’re a lot less happy, and the lack of happiness is a big part of depression.
"About this part there should be no mystery. But play does more than make children immediately happy. It is also the means by which they acquire life skills and learn to make friends. It’s the means by which they learn to direct their own activities. In the process of doing that, they have to learn how to negotiate with their playmates, deal with disagreements and minor bullying, and so forth. If we’re supervising children all the time and not allowing them opportunities to solve their own problems, they grow up without the kinds of character traits and skills needed to deal with the bumps in the road of life.”
So the question becomes, what kind of play opportunities are being offered? Sometimes the decision of what to do is a good place to start. For example, “do you want to play a board game or read a book?” If there’s more than one child, learning to take turns and understanding fairness is essential to understanding life lessons.
Playing games by the rules and holding each other accountable is another foundational concept. I’m sure I’m not alone when I recall one daughter or the other changing the rules mid-game to assist with the competitive outcome. Learning to make their own decisions and living with the outcome of those decisions is another life concept.
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Play is how young children learn best. It is through play that a child develops in the important areas of feeling and connecting, sensing and moving, listening and talking, and thinking and remembering.
Much can develop through playful experiences
Through playful experiences, children develop:
Emotional skills as they spend time with you and others learning about feelings, how to manage them, and understanding the feelings of others.
Social skills they master by learning to follow directions, to cooperate, to take turns, to share and to abide by rules.
Physical (gross-motor) skills as children learn to reach, crawl, walk, run, climb, jump, throw, catch and balance.
Fine-motor skills (the use of hands and fingers) as they handle and manipulate objects, toys, books and art supplies like, crayons, scissors and pencils.
Language skills that grow as children interact with others and use words when they play with toys and engage in activities.
Critical thinking skills through play that encourages problem solving and helps them learn concepts like cause and effect, quantities, or spatial relationships.
Creativity and imagination; as children pretend to be doctors, teachers, parents, or firefighters, they learn that life is full of possibilities and opportunities.
Follow the child's lead, and then become a positive enabler
You are your child’s first and favorite playmate. You can contribute to your child’s playful experiences by joining in your child’s play.
You can:
Observe your child to learn their favorite play activities and to determine his level of skills so you can support and encourage his growth and development.
Follow their lead, be sensitive to their cues, and target your play to her level of skills and abilities. Let your child determine the direction of play.
Use your imagination and enter into the creative world of your child’s play. You will be amazed at how many new and exciting adventures you can have if you are open to new ideas.
Be enthusiastic! Getting into playful activities with energy and a willingness to commit yourself to a role as you pretend, to become the characters in the books you read, and to do an activity for the tenth time ? these are the loving memories your child will cherish his whole life.
For more information on children and stress, check out David Elkind, author of “The Hurried Child.”
Just remember, more activities are not always better for you or your child. Enjoy the little things and remember to play.
Melinda Hill is an OSU Extension Family & Consumer Sciences Educator and may be reached at 330-264-8722 or [email protected].
This article originally appeared on The Daily Record: Playtime for kids leads to development of all sorts of lifetime skills
