PLAY AND THE SCHOOL-AGE
CHILD
PLAY AND THE SCHOOL-AGE CHILD
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The more complex the
mind, the greater the
need for play
The complexity of the
mind is a function of the
availability of play
Play as an instrument,
development as an
outcome. Society as a
changing construct???
PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
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Elementary school children
exhibit Specialized movement
according to Gallahue.
Children exhibit a great deal of
mastery over their physical
capabilities and become
increasingly interested in
certain sports or recreation.
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Baseball
Football
Tennis
Golf
Factor Affecting Physical
Development
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Proper nutrition
Obesity. Today, children have increasing problems with
clinical obesity, HB pressure, and cholesterol.
Childhood illnesses. Within the first 2 years of
elementary school, children experience high rates of
illnesses. Especially, in low socioeconomic groups.
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Asthma
Cystic fibrosis
Cancer
AIDS
School Aged Play and Injuries
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Injuries begin to increase from
early childhood thru adolescence.
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Boys tend to have more injuries than
girls
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Variations in risk and play seem to be
important factor for distinctions in
gender
Majority of injuries due to auto and
bicycle collisions
Characteristics of Motor Development
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During this period, growth is slower and more regular
Between 6 and 8, boys are much taller and heavier than
girls. However, this trend changes by age 10 when girls
catch up and generally become taller.
Development and growth occurs from bottom to top.
Further development of fine motor skills enable children to
write with greater precision. First grade children can
generally write their name, the letters of the alphabet, and
numbers.
Motor Skill Development
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Differences in motor development have been found to be
related to gender and socioeconomic status.
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Boys tend to be more advanced in gross motor development
(organized sports).
Girls tend to be more advanced in fine motor development
(handwriting, drawing).
Social and parental expectations seem to influences these
differences; however, this trend is changing.
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Should gender be a determining factor for organized sports?
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How do we promote a gender neutral approach to organized sports?
Outdoor Play
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Outdoor play is generally initiated by peers and often
occurs in the absence of adult supervision.
This type of play is diminishing in the home and
school (recess) due to safety reasons and
philosophical reasons.
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Increasing school expectations
Parents working
Sometimes teachers/parents don’t value play (urban vs.
rural)
Many play areas are plagued by drugs, violence, homeless
transients
Lawsuits
Children engage in more risky behaviors, especially
during outdoor play
Cognitive Development
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School age children are concrete in their thinking.
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Changing mental strategies:
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Selective attention (better able to screen out other
distractions)
memory strategies (rehearsal, elaboration,
organization)
knowledge growth.
Variations in intelligence
 Unidimensional intelligence. IQ.
 Multidimensional intelligence. Howard Gardner
A GLIMPSE AT SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL DEVELOPMENT
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According to Erikson, children face the challenge of Industry vs.
Inferiority.
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Self concept continues to develop during this stage, but it varies due
to environment
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Self-esteem starts to decline
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Physical
Social
Academic
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Looking Glass Concept (C. H. Cooley)
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Development of attributes: Mastery orientation vs. Learned
helplessness
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Perspective taking in consort with moral development continues to
develop.
Development of Peer Culture
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Children begin to organize into groups and seek
separate identities thru dress and/or ritual
activities.
Increases in organizational affiliations like 4-H
groups, Boy and Girl Scouts------gangs?.
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Positive group experiences facilitate greater sense of
esteem and greater social competence.
Negative group experiences or group rejection tend to
produce negative outcomes.
Play and Social-emotional Development
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School aged children promote rule based play. Reflecting the
highest level of social play (Piaget and Smilansky) and cooperative
play (Parten)
Major problems of play are aggressive playing and bullying.
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Boys tend to exhibit greater physical aggression while girls
tend to exhibit greater verbal aggression
Children tend to avoid bullies; therefore, they tend to exhibit
greater antisocial habits
Boys tend to be bullies however, both boys and girls tend to
be recipients
Teachers tend to do little about bullying among children.
Explanation
 They may not be aware
 They may feel that children need to solve their own
problems
Gender and Social Play
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Boys
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Tend to engage in outdoor play
Tend to play in larger groups
Tend to play more in same-aged groups
Tend to engage more in rough-and-tumble play
Tend to engage in less mature play
Tend to spend more time playing electronic games
Boys tend to prefer realistic play themes (girls prefer fantasy
themes)
Girls
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Tend to spend their play time in conversation, apparatus play, and
games that require taking turns
In co-ed schools, girls tend to stay closer to adults. In all girl
settings, they tend to venture and play farther from adults.
Rough-and-Tumble Play, Chase Games, & War Toys
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Rough-and-Tumble Play (RTP) accounts for 5% of play in preschools. It
increases to 17% of school-aged play and declines during middle
childhood.
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Older and more popular children use sports as a means of status
development.
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However, aggressive and rejected children continue to use RTP/bullying for
status and recognition.
Themes to chase games:
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Many teachers purport not to be able to distinguish between fighting and
RTP.
Threat of kissing
Threat of Cooties
Social intrusion (boy groups interrupting girl groups while playing jump rope,
girl group interrupting boys playing football, etc.)
Do war toys promote violence?
Other Key Points for Consideration
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Clear links have been established between
children who engage in high-quality pretend play
and later abstract thought (Bergen, 2002)
Pretend play fosters:
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Cognitive self-regulation
Narrative recall
Divergent problem-solving
Rule understanding
PLAY AND THE SCHOOL-AGE CHILD



The more complex the mind,
the greater the need for play
The complexity of the mind is
a function of the availability of
play
Play as an instrument,
development as an outcome. .
. Society as a changing
construct???
A MODEL FOR AGGRESSION
Diminishing
Play
Expression
Confusing
Experiences
Life Skills
Communication
Aggression
Locus of
Control
TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO PROSOCIAL
OUTCOMES
Expression
Life Skills
Communication
Pro-Social
Outcomes
TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO PROSOCIAL
OUTCOMES
Expression
Pro-Social
Outcomes
Life Skills
Communication
Autonomy/
Self-Concept
TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO PROSOCIAL
OUTCOMES
Debriefing
Expression
Pro-Social
Outcomes
Life Skills
Communication
Autonomy/
Self-Concept
TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO PROSOCIAL
OUTCOMES
Increasing
Play
Expression
Debriefing
Pro-Social
Outcomes
Life Skills
Communication
Autonomy/
Self-Concept
TRANSFORMING AGGRESSION INTO PROSOCIAL
OUTCOMES
Increasing
Play
Expression
Debriefing
Pro-Social
Outcomes
Life Skills
Communication
Autonomy/
Self-Concept
Play as an Instrument, Development as an
Outcome, Society as the Changing Construct
Healthy Play
Prosocial
Outocomes
Healthy
Adults
REFERENCES
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Bergen, D. (2006). The role of pretend play
in children’s cognitive development. Early
Childhood Research & Practice, (4)1, 1-8.
Frost, J., Wortham, S., & Reifel, S. (2005).
Play and child development (2nd ed.). Merrill
Prentice Hall. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey.