What is the difference between play needs and play preferences

Some of the more common functions of play are to facilitate physical, emotional, cognitive, social, and moral development. Children repeat certain body movements purely for pleasure, and these movements develop body control. For example, an infant will first hit at a toy, then will try to grasp it, and eventually will be able to pick it up.

Next, the infant will shake the rattle or perhaps bring it to the mouth. In these ways, the infant moves from simple to more complex gestures. Role playing is a way of coping with emotional conflict.

Children may escape through play into a fantasy world in order to make sense out of the real one. Also, a child's self-awareness deepens as he explores an event through role-playing or symbolic play. When a parent or sibling plays a board game with a child, shares a bike ride, plays baseball, or reads a story, the child learns self-importance. The child's self-esteem gets a boost. Parents send positive messages to their child when they communicate pleasure in providing him or her with daily care.

From these early interactions, children develop a vision of the world and gain a sense of their place in it. They exercise their abilities to think, remember, and solve problems. They develop cognitively as they have a chance to test their beliefs about the world. Children increase their problem-solving abilities through games and puzzles.

Children involved in make-believe play can stimulate several types of learning. Language is strengthened as the children model others and organize their thoughts to communicate. Children playing house create elaborate narratives concerning their roles and the nature of daily living. Children also increase their understanding of size, shape, and texture through play.

They begin to understand relationships as they try to put a square object in a round opening or a large object in a small space. Books, videos, and educational toys that show pictures and matching words also increase a child's vocabulary while increasing the child's concept of the world. As the infant begins to play with others and with objects, a realization of self as separate from others begins to develop. The infant begins to experience joy from contact with others and engages in behavior that involves others.

The infant discovers that when he coos or laughs, mother coos back. The child soon expects this response and repeats it for fun, playing with his mother. As children grow, they enjoy playful interaction with other children. Children learn about boundaries, taking turns, teamwork, and competition. Children also learn to negotiate with different personalities and the feelings associated with winning and losing.

They learn to share, wait, and be patient. Parents start these lessons early in the child's life by teaching the child to control aggressive behavior. Parents can develop morals while reading to children by stressing the moral implications in stories.

Children can identify with the moral fictional characters without assuming their roles. With peers they quickly learn that taking turns is rewarding and cheating is not. Group play helps the child appreciate teamwork and share and respect others' feelings. The child learns how to be kind and charitable to others.

As children develop, their play evolves, too. Certain types of play are associated with, but not restricted to, specific age groups. Promoting play for a sick child is a challenge when the child cannot voluntarily engage in play.

Parents need to realize the importance of play to the well being of a sick child. Children can bring favorite books, games, and stuffed animals to the hospital. In hospitals young children need toys that they can manipulate independently, so that parents are free sometimes to focus on medical issues and the healthcare team.

Play activities vary depending on cultural and socioeconomic circumstances. When children do not speak the group's language, games such as stacking blocks or building with tinker toys are appealing. Playing tapes of well-loved children's songs can be effective too.

The child does not need to be able to understand the words to enjoy the music or clap with the rhythm. Acutely ill children do not have the strength, the attention span, or the interest in play. They may enjoy being read to and the comfort of holding a favorite stuffed animal. Once the acute phase of an illness is over, the child's interest in playing returns. Spontaneous interest in play is a good index of health. The toys selected for play are good indicators of the child's recovery progress.

When a child goes to see the doctor, the waiting room is likely to have other children in it. The arriving child may hear other children cry as they leave the examining room. The child may dread the examination. Parents should pack a favorite toy or book with which to distract the child. Having a parent sit with them is comforting, and they may venture a few feet away to examine toys in the toy box.

Older children who go with the parent and the sick sibling to see the doctor should have toys and games for their entertainment, too, so the parent can focus on the sick child.

Hospitalized children can release fear, anger, or tension through effective play. Children in the hospital for a week or longer may enjoy playing school or socializing in the playroom with other children of their age. However, physical play for sick children must be supervised by a parent or healthcare provider. When a child is ill or traumatized the care plan may include therapeutic play. Unlike normal play in design and intent, therapeutic play is guided by the health professional to meet the physical and psychological needs of the child.

Because play is the language of children, children who have difficulty putting their thoughts in words can often speak clearly through play therapy. There are three divisions of therapeutic play, including:. Many children draw pictures that reflect punitive images to explain unhappy experiences. They need reassurance that they are not being punished. Health-care providers need to make sure that these children are not being abused.

Other children may draw pictures that are symbolic of death an airplane crashing, boats sinking, burning buildings, or children in graves.

Freely chosen play is when a child decides and controls their play following their own instincts, imagination and interests. They play without being led by adults. Play improves the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and young people. Playing can help children develop their social skills with others. By listening, paying attention and sharing play experiences, this helps a child:. Children often want to create challenge and uncertainty in their play.

Through risky, challenging play, children test themselves and find out their own limits. They learn how to deal with risk through play and can use these same skills later in life.

Parents should encourage their children from birth to extend themselves. Teach them basic skills including:.

Help them understand their limits and their boundaries. Allow them to have fun in their play. As a child grows they go through different stages of play development. While playing, children learn and develop important skills they will continue to use throughout their lifetime. Problem solving, creativity, and willingness to take risks are just a few of the skills developed through play. Is your child under 2 years old?

When children play with each other, they are given the opportunity to learn how to interact with others and behave in various social situations. Be sure to give your child plenty of time and space to play. Typically, children under 4 are not yet ready to share their toys for the sake of a game, to respect the property rights of other children, or to understand the importance of rules and bounds within a game. You can encourage cooperative play by example. Play games that require taking turns, discuss assigning roles within play, and encourage communication and feedback.

Cooperative play allows children to work together towards a common goal instead of in opposition to one another or in pursuit of winning. Parents and caregivers can foster cooperative play by creating an environment with tools and games kids can use to work cooperatively.

Outdoors, children can work together to rake leaves, build a snow fort, or plant and tend to a garden. Children can also collaborate to use playground equipment or outside toys in a way that ensures that everyone gets the opportunity to play, like rotating between the slide, the swings, and the monkey bars.

Indoors, children can construct buildings and cities from boxes or blocks together or use figurines and dolls to act out shared stories. At this stage, children may also begin to enjoy more organized card or board games that allow them to work towards a common goal or point total.

They may also enjoy collaborative work like building a puzzle together or painting a mural. Encouraging your child to participate in cooperative play is important for fostering their long term social development.

During cooperative play they can learn and develop a number of life skills that will help them get along with others and move through the world successfully. Cooperation is an essential life skill that children will use at home, at school, and in the community as they grow. Play that fosters a sense of cooperation in kids shows them that working together allows them to have more fun and more readily reach their goal than working or playing independently.

During cooperative play children must express their needs and desires as well as hear and respect the needs and desires of others.

As kids continue to grow and develop, they refine their communication skills through play and carry these skills into different parts of their lives. During cooperative play kids each have a distinct role to play in their game.

This recognition that different people experience the same situations differently is one of the earliest forms of empathy.