The significance of ‘Play’ during early childhood.
A single fertilized egg cell, smaller than the head of a pin, only in nine months time in the womb of the mother, grows to a lovely bundle of energy that looks like a human being. In hardly 15 months this bundle of energy grows into a naughty toddler who is curious about everything. The infant learns to walk and talk, think and reason. Emotional responses, intellectual abilities and styles of social interaction evolve.
Children born in every culture share the same human biological inheritance and the same fundamental need for care. Thus adults in every culture face the same major tasks in rearing children. They must provide infants with basic nurturance needed for development and prepare children to function as adults in their particular social worlds. The rules and values of the culture are passed on to children. This process is called socialization.
Children change physically and intellectually as they mature. The transformations in physical and cognitive capacities have a dramatic influence on how children interact with their environment. Play serves important functions for children. It is a means by which they can be active explorers of their environment, active creators of new experiences and active participants in their own development. Children play untiringly till they are hungry or sleepy. No one need teach children to play’ they do so naturally. Children need no reward for playing; play is its own reward. Play is a ‘laboratory’ in which children learn new skills and concepts, play is a child’s ’social workshop’ where he/she tries out rules alone and with other children. The child expands his/her ’self’.
For preschoolers play can be an outlet for their emotions. It is often concerned with important themes and feelings from everyday life. They express their anxieties and fears. Play often centres on the most frightening of topics, such as being lost or having to fight off ‘monsters’.
A common game preschoolers initiate with parents is “you be the baby and I will be the mummy or daddy”. The child might say “now you go right to bed!” The power roles are reversed in play and the parent is charmed and not angry. In play child can pretend to be destructive, disobedient or un-cooperative without being scolded by the parent. This satisfies the conscience of the child.
It is interesting to observe the sequence of social development in children between two and five years. It begins with non-social activity which child psychologists name as ‘solitary play‘ they child plays all alone unaware of children and people around. Then it shifts to ‘parallel play‘ in which the child plays near other children with similar materials but does not try to influence their behavior. A little later children engage in ‘associative play‘ where they interact by exchanging toys and commenting on one another’s behaviour. Finally they change over to ‘cooperative play‘ in which children orient towards a common goal such as acting out a make-believe theme or working on the same product like making sand castle or painting a wall or a picture.
After the children get into formal schooling they start playing rule-oriented games. In middle childhood they play ‘rough-and tumble’-they wrestle, roll, hit and run after one another while smiling and laughing. During mid-adolescence more time is spent with novel play activities and finding partners of common interests. As adolescence draws to a close, most young people show many complex social behaviours and are proficient in their interactions with peers.
A note from the author: I would like to add that the inspiration to put down these few thoughts and concepts about the role of play in the early childhood came from my first visit to a Montessori House of Children, where I happened to have a glimpse of the Montessori method and the philosophy being practised. The children in the Montessori environment are provided with equipment which are are highly impressive, scientific and educative.
(The author of this article is a Professor of Psychology, The National College, Bangalore)
July 24th, 2008 at 5:52 am
I totally agree with the professor about the significance of playing.
I think that is the best way to teach and when u teach a particular think in a playful manner the children will listen attentively.
I think in early childhood, most of the children have an IMAGINERY FRIEND
with whom they talk and share everything.
September 10th, 2008 at 7:45 pm
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September 29th, 2008 at 11:32 am
i agree with the professor and the other member’s comments. i have a 18 year old down syndorme afected sis in law. my mother in law and relatives had a hard time teaching her anything normal like table setting and stuff early on when i got married, 7 years ago. i had some friends who were teachers and they encouraged me to teach her able setting, serving food, etc but all the time making it like a game. and it worked. what our elders could not do with the traditional approcah, i ws ablr to teach in 4 days bec it felt like a game..today despite being a down syndrome child, she beats her mother at table setting….
i feel more and more people should understand the importance of play in the upbringing of a child. it helps them develop and in lots of ways, i have seen it also opens their minds…..