Play With Me!
One constant that we can always count
on, regardless of cultural or social situations, is that young
children will play. If you ask a young child why he plays, he'll
probably say "Because it's fun!" Of course, being adults, we have
to define play in terms we are comfortable with. Below is an overview
of play theory and theorists from the past 100 years.
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Herbert Spencer, psychologist and philosopher,
born in 1820. He stated that humans have a constant amount
of energy that must be expended. Early in our existence,
most, if not all, of that energy was used just meeting
basic needs. As our civilization advanced, and less energy
was used meeting these needs, we have had to compensate
by expending our excess energy in some other manner, namely,
play.
Sigmund Freud, psychoanalyst, born in 1856. He
suggested that play was a way of expressing socially unacceptable
behaviors. Play was therapeutic, allowing one to vent
undesirable feelings and actions in a more acceptable
manner.
Karl Groos, zoologist, born in 1861. He studied
play first in animals, then in humans. He explained that
play was a way of preparing for survival in the adult
world. Maria Montessori, born in 1870, elaborated
on this theory. She proposed that children would be better
off if they spent their play learning, or imagining, useful
things. These two theorists feel that "play is the child's
work."
Jean Piaget, psychologist, born in 1896. His work
focused on intellectual development in children, and his
play theory reflects that. He suggested that human intellect
develops in stages through assimilation (transforming
the environment to meet the requirements of self), or
play, and accommodation (transforming self to meet the
requirements of the environment), or work.
Lev Vygotsky, psychologist, also born in 1896.
His play theory emphasizes social development. He suggests
that there is an ability level that children can reach
but not without help from adults, which he refers to as
a zone of proximal development, or ZPD. When children
play, they give cues to adults about their readiness to
learn new skills with assistance.
David Elkind, chair of the Department of Child
Development at Tufts University, suggests that children
play for personal, experiential reasons, and any developmental
value is beside the point. In other words, they just want
to have fun!
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 So, what value is there in play? Many studies show connections
between play and both intellectual and social skills, such as
memory, verbal abilities, school adjustment, and getting along
with others. Studies also show that play is where children first
show their ability to delay gratification, to take another person's
point of view, to think abstractly, and to voluntarily follow
rules. Most play researchers advocate adults having a role in
children's play, so here are five tips on how to play with your
child.
Five tips on how to play with your child:
 Talk about different roles that
people play and how these roles are related to each other. After
a trip to the post office, talk about the different people that
are required, like the cashiers, who sell stamps and postage services,
the sorters, the loaders, the truck drivers and plane pilots,
the people who put gas in the vehicles, the deliverer, and the
recipient. After a visit to a restaurant, how many different roles
can you think of? Allow the children to volunteer for roles to
play, or help them at first by assigning them, if necessary.
 Help children plan their play.
Talk about who they are going to be, what they are going to play—as
opposed to play with—and what is going to happen while they
play. Encourage the children to discuss these things with each
other.
 Extend their play
when it breaks down. When two children begin bickering over a
toy, enter to extend the play. For instance, pretend to knock
on a door and ask if now is a good time for a visit. Refocus the
play away from the distraction and allow them to continue in the
play time.
 Provide a safe play
environment for children. Go beyond age appropriate materials,
and also get to the safety of the children when interacting with
each other. Have the children help develop rules for play that
ensure safety and help to prevent injuries.
 Encourage imaginative
and creative play, rather than imitative play. When children begin
to focus on violent or silly actions that are very narrow in scope,
help them to expand the scope of play by refocusing them on other
roles, other solutions to problems, and other skills that can
be used to achieve the same result. Banning any type of play,
violent or otherwise, rarely works for long. Help children work
through issues that are restricting their imagination and creativity.
Suggest painting, story-telling, and later, writing as other ways
that are easier to control when dealing with these types of issues.
Visit
the PreKorner™ for other early childhood
education resources.
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