Play is important for children. Play is the way children learn. Play is a child's job. Through play, children learn about themselves, their environment, their surrounding people and the world around them.
Research showed that play promotes healthy physical growth, social, emotional and cognitive development in children. Studies also show that quality play has important link to future success in academic.
The implementation of formal instruction in early childhood education possibly reduces interest of learning in children. The followings briefly explain the benefits a child can gain through play.
Physical – active play can burn energy and avoid obesity in some children. It also helps in eye-hand coordination. A child who scribbles with a marker or chalk enables s/he to perfect muscle control which later leads toward drawing and writing.
Social-emotional- communication and interaction with adults or peers help to build social skill and encourage language development. Children learn problem-solving, cooperation and conflict resolution in cooperative play. Children practice in expressing their feelings during play, e.g. dramatic and fantasy play. It is very important as part of healthy emotion management.
Cognitive – children learn mathematics concepts when playing with blocks. They come across geometry, gravity and balance of block in different sizes and shapes. Sand and water promote basic scientific exposure in young children.
When we enrich children's play, they develop curiosity, self-esteem, self-direction, endurance or persistence. Regardless of solitary play (play alone), parallel play (play together with no interaction or relation) or cooperative play (interactive play together), all quality play is important for a child's well-being development.
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Right recognizes the right of a child to rest, leisure, to engage in play which appropriate to his/her age. So, let parents and child care providers make their caring children accessible to age-appropriate stimulating activities in a healthy and safety environment.
No comments:
Post a Comment