Understanding Children’s
Play
Overview
 What is play
 Types of play
 Why play time has declined
 How we can support our children’s play
Famous comments about play
 Children need the freedom
and time to play. Play is not
a luxury. Play is a necessity.”
Kay Redfield Jamison
(professor of psychiatry)
 “It is paradoxical that many
educators and parents still
differentiate between a
time for learning and a time
for play without seeing the
vital connection between
them.” ~ Leo Buscaglia
(author, educator)
“Play
gives children a chance to practice what they are
learning…They have to play with what they know to be
true in order to find out more, and then they can use
what they learn in new forms of play.” ~ Fred Rogers (Mr.
Rogers’ Neighborhood)
“It is becoming increasingly clear through research on
the brain, as well as in other areas of study, that
childhood needs play. Play acts as a forward feed
mechanism into courageous, creative, rigorous
thinking in adulthood.” ~ Tina Bruce (Professor, London
Metropolitan University)
Adults sometimes think of play as a guilty
pleasure a distraction from “real” work
and responsibilities.
According to Dr. Stuart Brown, “ Play is a
basic biological drive as integral to our
health as sleep and nutrition”.
What is play?
 For an activity to be regarded as PLAY, it
should be freely chosen by the child
and the child must want to do the
activity for no other reason than
because it is fun.
Characteristics of Play
 Children enjoy play
 There is flexibility in purpose
 Children seek out opportunities to play
 There is a non-realistic aspect to play
The Canadian Association for
Young Children believes that:
 Play is natural
 Play is essential for
children
 Play is fun, exciting,
adventurous, open ended
 Play is creative and
spontaneous
 Play is magical and
complex
 Play is rewarding and
stimulating
 Play is non-threatening
 Play in non-judgemental
 Play is directed by the
children
 Play is full of choices and
decision making
 Play is posing questions
and hypothesizing
 Play is focused on the
process and not the
product
Types of Play
1. Sensory/manipulative/object
play and physical play
2. Constructive play
3. Dramatic /Fantasy or symbolic
play
4. Games with rules
Sensory/manipulative/
object play and physical play
Children learn mostly through play. By exploring ,
tasting and manipulating, children process new
information and construct their own sense of
order.
Babies and children explore the physical
environment around them with smell, sight,
sound, touch and taste.
Motor/Physical Play
Provides opportunities to
develop both individual gross
and fine muscle strength.
Constructive Play
Constructive play is about creating things
with constructive and goal oriented
activities, such as painting, playing with
dough, building towers etc.
Constructive play is an excellent means of
developing fine-motor skills and hand eye
co-ordination in the younger child.
Constructive play allows children to
experiment with objects
It gives children a sense of
accomplishment and empowers them
with control of their environment
Children also need to spend time on
quiet activities that develop their
fine motor skills, eye-hand
coordination, and attention spans;
activities such as:
 reading
coloring
drawing
 cutting
gluing
painting
doing puzzles
Dramatic
Dramatic play enhances social, emotional,
linguistic and mental development with creative
role playing
It supports and promotes social development,
allowing for your child to learn cooperation,
sharing, leadership, negotiation and problemsolving skills
Pretending helps children overcome fears and
cope with feelings at transitional stages in their
development
Imitating, imagining and dramatizing allows
children to try out new roles and
experiment with language and emotions.
Games with Rules
Usually games involve others, competition, and rules.
This type of play may appear with preschoolers, but is
found more often in elementary school children
This type of play can build self esteem if the child is
proficient, but it can also be harmful if the child is
ridiculed or driven too hard (by parent, coach, or even
peers)
Society may have changed, but children at
root have the same absorbing interest in
play
Despite the availability of a huge array of toys for
children, including ICT (Information and
Communication Technology) and despite the claim
that children nowadays 'demand' expensive toys
(many are promoted as 'essential for children's learning’).
Children are still happy to explore simple play
materials including large cardboard boxes and
home-made sound makers, craft activities and
lively physical games
Play time has declined
Children are being pushed to build a “child resumé” through
organized academic, sporting, and other activities
Children are often being passively entertained through
computers, television, and electronic games
Fewer safe places exist for children to play in, which leads to
more controlled, adult-directed play as parents &caregivers
seek safe places for their children
There are more families with two working parents so there
are more children in child care, where there are occasionally
more organized play structures set up
For some of our children, this controlled and
hurried lifestyle is a source of stress and anxiety
and may even contribute to depression.
The Value of Play
Play fosters a child’s physical,
social, emotional and
intellectual development.
As children play, their brain
develops, their muscles grow
strong, and they develop good
social and life skills such as
learning to share, take turns, make
choices and understand the
feelings of others.
It helps children learn who they
are, what they can do and allows
them to explore and practice how
the world works.
Play also helps increase children’s
concentration and cooperation
with others.
High Quality Play
In high quality play children are truly
engaged
Infants and toddlers are young explorers
(parents are willingly to let their children tale risks that are right for his
or her age)
Preschoolers & older children-complex play
benefits them in developing “executive
function” (i.e. concentration, impulse control, problem solving,
foresight)
High quality play leads to selfregulation (children’s ability to calm themselves, control
their behaviour, and focus on tasks?)
Ever wonder how to help children self-regulate.
The answer may be, “Let them play!”
What can you do to encourage
your child’s play?
The most important things that
parents can provide are:
Time
Space
Materials
Caring adults
Provide open-ended play time
Allow your child the time that he or she
needs to explore, discover, and control
the environment. They need long,
uninterrupted periods for spontaneous
free play. The periods should be at least
45 minutes to one hour
Outdoor Play
Make sure your child has
plenty of time outdoors.
Nature provides a rich
environment for play. It
encourages boisterous,
vigorous, physically active
play that develops your
child’s strength, balance,
and coordination.
Arrange play dates for your child
so that he or she has
opportunities to play with other
children.
Encourage Make-Believe Play
Give your child
materials that
encourage him or
her to create their
own worlds – a
stack of cardboard
boxes, a trunk of
dress-up clothes,
blankets, pots and
pans, for example.
Recognize that mess, roughhousing
and nonsense are all parts of play
Help children negotiate with
each other during pretend play
Other Ways to Support Play
Value children's play and talk to children about
their play. Adults often say "I like the way you're
working," but rarely, "I like the way you're
playing."
Play with children when it is appropriate,
especially during the early years. If adults pay
attention to and engage in children's play,
children get the message that play is valuable
Parents can involve themselves in play but
should mentor or coach rather than interfere
Children should be the prime architects of
play
Parents and teachers need to be intentional
in enhancing children play
Create a playful atmosphere. It is important
for adults to provide materials which
children can explore and adapt in play and
to reach their full potential.
Intervene to ensure safe play. Even in
older children's play, social conflicts
often occur when children try to
negotiate. Adults can help when
children cannot solve these conflicts by
themselves (Caldwell, 1977)
Undirected play— i.e., play without
direct adult supervision
— is particularly important, because it allows children to
learn how to work together, take turns, share, negotiate,
resolve conflicts, and advocate for themselves
When play is child-driven, children can practice their own
decision-making skills; they can also move at their own
pace and pursue their own passions
When play is too controlled by adults, children may learn to
acquiesce to adult rules and concerns but lose the sense of
play, particularly the creativity, leadership, and building of
group skills
In conclusion
Child-initiated, child-directed, and
parent-supported play is a valuable
way for children to learn
There is a wealth of research which
highlights the many positive results
appearing from children's involvement
in play
Play is enjoyable for all but often
underestimated for its unique way of
positively influencing physical, cognitive,
and psychosocial development
This world of play offers children vast
opportunities to learn about themselves,
others, and the environment in which they
live.