The Importance of Children’s Play, Essay Example

From a psychological perspective, play is important for children because it gives them the imaginative ability to be able to put different things together such as blocks and later different aspects of life. It is necessary for all children to play because playing teaches children about aspects about the real world, it is also crucial to their development because lack of play can leave a child without a sense of exploration about the world which is dangerous and can have detrimental consequences on them when they get older; it has been known that a child that does not play early will often end up depressed later on as they get older never mind constantly battling depression. It is indeed necessary for all children to play because it is something that helps develop their intelligence about the world around them, children who spend more time playing are better equipped to deal with deep seated emotional pain in the future, they deal with problems better as young adults and adults. According to Goldstein (2012), “every child needs to play because it strengthens their ability to comprehend and deal with the world around them” (Goldstein, 5, 2012). It can also be argued that a child’s play necessity is essential to other things as well such as physical fitness, without play, children are likely to live sedentary lifestyles which could be their downfall. Allowing children to play as well as helping them understand the value of playing ensures that they grow up productive as well as have a brain that thirsts for knowledge as well as strengthens their brain development which opens several doors for them, it even allows them to be able to make choices and connect the dots such as being able to distinguish between certain things. It is necessary that all children play because the skills they acquire will help them do great things as they grow.

Play-based learning fit into natural play in the same way that teaching a child right from wrong, the child learns what is real and what is not. When a child conducts natural play, they are exploring different elements of things that they are playing with as well as the elements of that toy or object. For example, when a child plays with blocks putting them into different shape holes, they are learning about what fit and what does not fit. This lesson will later teach them how to properly solve problems as well as complicated issues. It can be argued that a child does not gain anything from playing because it does not fit their natural evocation of learning, but play-based learning fits into natural play because children learn the importance of muscle development as well as mental growth development. According to Wardle (2008), “Play based learning is something the child needs to grow inside and out, they cannot go throw life or develop into productive adults without it (Wardle, 2008). Play-based learning is meant to fit into natural play because they both teach children different lessons that they need to live and survive, it can also be said that it also teaches children how to be able to distinguish between what is real and what is fake. A child who partakes in play-based learning has a better chance of developing a mindset that is conducive to learning as well as continues the desire to want to learn, play based learning fits into natural play in a way that it teaches children the social aspect of learning. It is a known fact that learning how to perfectly act in some social situations yield huge rewards, the child will also learn this lesson through play. Another example of this is when a child plays with word blocks, they learn how to comprehend simple words which eventually drives them to speak. Play-based learning helps the child develop skills that they need to live productive lives in society and in a bigger way, children who play are more productive and more focused than those who are not; natural growth is the goal here.

ECE or Early Childhood Education are known to teach children different things as well as be supportive in everything that teaches children how to properly grow and despite the ECE being supportive of children’s development, there are some ways that the ECE can support and continue to support children’s play to this very day. One of the ways that the ECE can support children’s play is by teaching and helping them learn that everything that they create is great as well as wonderful, a child learns that it is okay if something is not perfect; it is just learning how to be appreciative of things that they create with their own hands and mind. According to Samuelson & Pramling (2013), “ECE is all about letting children be who they are, it is not a matter of what they can’t accomplish, it is all about what they learn from everything around them” (Samuelson & Pramling, 2, 2013). Another way that the ECE can support the children’s play experience is by letting them be creative and supporting that creativity, it can be argued that the ECE limits the child’s ability to be able to comprehend creativity or challenge the child in any way. ECE can support that child’s creativity by challenging them to be more and do more, the ECE supporting this will ensure that the child can grasp complicated concepts. One of the most important ways that the ECE can support the child’s play experiences is by allowing them to free play, by supporting this they are allowing the child to positively express themselves creatively instead of being told how to. The idea of free play supports a child being a child and do what a child does which is exploring the world around them and making sense of it in their own little way, the ECE does not give children the idea that they cannot play or use play as a sense of developing concepts about the wider world instead they support a child’s desire to play because it is only through those experiences that they are able to do fully understand everything in the world.

References

Goldstein, J. (2012). Play in Children’s Development, Health and Well-Being. 1(1), 2-2.

Samuelsson, I., & Praming, N. (2014). Play and Learning. Encyclopedia on Early Child Development, 1(1), 2-2.

Wardle, F. (2013, January 1). Play as Curriculum. Retrieved March 31, 2015, from http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=127