Play...A Crucial Part Of A Child's Life

Children learn through play. Play is how children begin to understand their world. It is very essential for the overall healthy development of a child. It is important that children learn that play is important throughout life.

A parent is a child’s first teacher and much of the early teaching happens through play. It is very important for parents to make time to play with their children. It offers a chance to connect with the child. Play begins when a child is an infant and ideally continues throughout his or her life.

When a baby starts to smile and you smile back, you are engaging in play.

Children develop socialization skills by playing with other children. They learn leadership skills by directing the action or by following a leader.

Play helps children to learn solve problems in an environment that is supportive to this process. It also helps develop the critical thinking skills necessary to ask question and figure out how things work. Play also helps strengthen their language development through different activities they indulge in.

During play with others, children learn manipulation of toys and different objects as they try figure out how different objects work and what they can do with them. They also assign meaning to their play experiences when they can use materials in new and creative ways.

In today’s world, with both parents working, they find it hard to have quality time with their children. Children of all ages are exposed to technology such as television, computers, play stations, mobiles etc. They spend most of their time using technology and are not physically active or using their imagination. It is imperative to reduce the time children spend on these gadgets. It is very important that each child spends a minimum of one hour on physical exercise every day.

Children benefit a lot through play. They gain knowledge, learn to think, remember and solve problems. Puzzles and games help increase their problem-solving abilities. Pretend play/role play strengthens their language skills by modeling other children and adults. They also imitate their own family experiences. This helps children learn about the different roles of family members. Children also learn mathematical concepts of size, shape, texture etc through play.

Play is an essential and critical part of the holistic development of a child. Through play a child learns to socialize, think, solve problems, mature and most importantly have fun. Play connects children with their imagination, environment, parents and family and the world.