Documenti di Didattica
Documenti di Professioni
Documenti di Cultura
Kiara Maldonado
When you hear the word play the thoughts of fun and no learning may come to mind.
However, childrens play within the educational setting is very important and useful. Play helps
development, and physical development. Children at a young age are able to engage and interact
in the world around them through play. When given this opportunity children are able to explore,
practice role-playing with other children, and given the opportunity to face any fears (Ginsburg,
2007). Which later helps enhance their confidence and ability to face future challenges
(Ginsburg, 2007). Undirected play also allows the children the opportunity to learn how to work
in groups, share, negotiate, resolve conflicts, and the chance to learn self-advocacy skills
(Ginsburg, 2007). Therefore, play within the educational setting in early childhood education
needs to be implemented as children gain proper development in the different areas mentioned
above in an interactive fun way rather than expecting learning to occur just in seated time.
Play helps ensure that the school setting attends to social-emotional and cognitive
development. Elias (2006) stated, It has been shown to help children adjust to the school setting
and even to enhance childrens learning readiness, learning behaviors, and problem-solving
some of the forces that enhance childrens ability to learn are elevated at the expense of others.
THE VALUE OF CHILDRENS PLAY 3
Play and unscheduled time that allow for peer interactions are important components of social-
emotional learning. As children increase their social competence and emotional maturity
through play in the educational setting they are practicing both verbal and nonverbal
communication skills by negotiating roles, trying to gain access to ongoing play, and the
opportunity to take into consideration other peers feelings. They are able to take other feelings
into consideration by given the chance to take turns and sharing materials. They are also given
the opportunity to experience the social aspect of play by receiving view points of others by
working through conflicts about things like space, materials, and rules (Elias, 2006). Play
supports emotional development by providing different ways for children to express and cope
with feelings. For example, theorist Eric Eriksons theory explains how play allows children to
cope with their feelings, which is done through different emotions, such as, being sad or angry in
a situation that they are in control of (Mooney, 2013). They are able to model this through
pretend play, as pretend play allows children to think out loud and express pleasant and
unpleasant feelings.
Play also contributes to childrens fine and gross motor development. As children are
actively moving through play motor development is occurring, for example, playing with play
dough and building blocks allows the childs fine motor skills to strengthen. Imaginative play
also supports the development of motor skills, such as, manipulating fastenings on dress up
clothes, pressing telephone buttons, and coordination in pretend cooking are all ways imaginative
THE VALUE OF CHILDRENS PLAY 4
play supports physical development. The inclusion of arts and sports is also very important when
it comes to physical development. A child sitting in a classroom for hours at a time is not
promoting many opportunities for physical development to occur. Research has shown that
physical activity in young children can enhance concentration, motivation, learning, and well-
Play also provides cognitive development to occur. As play is a natural way young
children learn it is a fun and effective way for them to cognitively grow. In my experience in the
field of early childhood education children tend to act like little scientist. They are always
curious when it comes to how things work and they get the best experience and knowledge by
learning how things work hands on. During play children are solving problems, creating,
experimenting, thinking and learning through a variety of ways of play. Mooney (2013) stated,
Vygotsky was interested in the role of social interaction on cognitive development and argued
that development first takes place socially. That is, children observe parental behavior, listen to
parents' speech, and then try to imitate them. As children practice through imitation, parents will
guide children, correct them, and provide challenges. Through child-centered play, children take
on different roles and try out different language uses, all of which help them on the journey from
being externally regulated to internally regulated in cognition. Through play, children become
more competent in their language use and begin to regulate their own thought processes.
THE VALUE OF CHILDRENS PLAY 5
In conclusion, the information provided above shows how play helps further development
development. Most people may look at play as a negative; however, play in fact gives children
the opportunity to develop in the proper areas in an inviting natural way of learning.
THE VALUE OF CHILDRENS PLAY 6
References
Elias, M. J., & Arnold, H. (2006). The educators guide to emotional intelligence and academic
Ginsburg, K. R. (2007, January 01). The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child
Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. Retrieved August 08, 2017,
from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/119/1/182