Children\'s Use of Play

Psychology Developmental

Children's Use of Play

Children use play as a way of role-playing and expression. Anxiety expression, mastering of conflict as well as many other developmental benefits are derived from play by children. This paper intends to explore the play of children in relation to the developmental benefits that play provides.

Though play children grow in the understanding of not only themselves but of others and the world around them as well in their capacity to communicate with their friend and the adults in their lives Children's play is vital to the developmental growth in a child.

Progression of Play in Development:

Paiget, 1962 described what he termed "sensorimotor practice play" which refers to the experimentation of bodily sensation and motor movements on the part of infants and toddlers and as well as in connection with objects and people. By the time a baby is six months old the child will have developed consistent, although simple action schemes adopted through trial and error and alot of practice. Pushing and grasping to cause interesting actions are action schemes used by infants such as rolling a ball thus experiencing sensation of movement. By the time a baby is nine months old the child has a larger variety of objects and is still experimenting with action schemes but now more so related to how different objects react from being manipulated. By the time a child is the age of two the child becomes aware of the connection of objects to functions.

Pretend Play

Pretend play becomes prominent as the child becomes developmentally able to symbolically represent experience and at this stage the beginning of role-playing is adapted by children as a form of expression of their feelings and ideas about the world around them in a social sense. (Garvey 1984) Children assume alternate identities, or roles in their play some of which are functional and other which are stereotypical and assumed from the culture of the world they have experienced such as role-playing as a nurse, a super-hero, fireman, etc. According to Garvey, 1984, this type of play is pretty well predictable in direct relation to the experiences of the child.

Sociodramatic play emerges and objects stimulate and affect the roles assumed by children in their play. Fein in 1981 explained that even a three-year-old is able to transform an object to fit the role of play. At the age of four to five years old the play is on a basis of pretend and often shared with friends, adults or may be solitary in nature. The child's play will generally incorporate the wants or wishes of the child. Linguistic competence which is necessary for success in school has been linked to improvisational exchanges in children's pretend play.

Formal Playing by the Rules:

Paiget in 1961 relates that the interest in formal games with friends and peers is an interest to children of the age five or younger but that older children are more developed logically and socially and games with rules that are formalized are played. Card games, checkers and other such games assist with the reasoning strategies, alternatives and defense technique development of children. Games can be motivational intellectually in the pre-school and primary school curriculum. (Kamii & Devries, 1980, Kamii, 1985)

Adults Interaction and Role in Children's Play:

The adult role in children's play should follow guidelines. The adult should value children's play and talk to the child about their play. When appropriate, play with the child, most specifically during the early years. Creation of a playful atmosphere as well as provision of materials that are conducive to exploration in play is important. Sometimes offering a new prop or suggesting new roles can provide more productive experiences through play. The adult should intervene to assure safety in play as well as negotiating conflicts between children that the children are unable to find a solution to themselves. (Caldwell, 1977). According to Sroufe, Cooper and & DeHart, 1996), a primary focus has been early attachment relationships with the primary caregivers and other aspects of early care. Individual differences in the quality of these relationship experiences are predicted to be linked to peer relationships in all phases of development.