Play - Secrets Revealed

Dolls, blocks, “masak-masak”, see-saws, slides, swings, hide & seek, puzzles, “dress-up” – all childhood games that are rapidly being replaced by TV programmes, video games and computer simulated games by parents of the new millennium. While society has become more affluent, educated and technologically savvy, it is sad to see how traditional play is seen by parents as being a waste of time. Children are being forced at younger ages to sit still and learn to read and write, count and spell. This article aims to reveal the hidden secrets- benefits of traditional methods of play, games of the days of old.

What constitutes “play”? Play can be loosely said to be, any activity that children engage in spontaneously that is usually non academic in nature. Most parents, would agree that play includes worthless activities and are a waste of time since their children can be engaged in more constructive activities such as literacy and numeracy activities which will in turn provide the children with a head start compared to their peers. The emphasis placed on formal intellectual skill building these days has robbed children of today of their childhoods. The myth that the earlier you start formal education the better for the child is something parents should not fall for. No doubt it has been fuelled by some educational provisions and programmes that aggressively market early introductions to literacy and numeracy.

A two year old is not going to understand the concepts of numbers and phonics. The brain of a two year old, unless a genius, is not matured enough to take it such complex ideas yet. Kindergartens give four and five year olds homework to do! Simple logic dictates that one must learn from the very simple and then progress on to more complex tasks in order to achieve a perfect understanding of any given concept.

Piaget, a Swiss psychologist, interested in child development offers parents an alternative view to childhood and has highlighted through his scientific work the types and benefits of play and their benefits to children. Social psychologists and psycho analysts will concur that childhood play is not only important but rather, crucial for the overall development and laying of foundations for adulthood – building of a “man”.

From birth to eight years children go through several milestones in play development. These milestones ideally, are in sync with general intellectual development. However, many children these days have been forced to grow up too soon leaving an obvious discrepancy or causing a distortion between intellectual and general development of children. For example, it is quite common to hear a four year old to count from 1 - 1000 but for this same child to be incapable of understanding what it is to give you 25 sweets from a box or learn to hop on one leg.

Occupational therapists will agree that childhood play contributes to the overall enhancement of gross and fine motor skills, coordination and balancing skills. While it may seem like children are wasting their time playing hopscotch with their friends, it is important for parents to understand that a higher power is at work. Nature is actively teaching the children invaluable skills – taking turns, patience, fine tuning of gross and fine motor skills, concentration, focus, target setting and goal-achieving, inter personal sills, communication abilities, language and vocabulary application and enhancement.

Much of early cognitive development takes place through play. Thinking skills, concentration, problem-solving, cause and effect are all examples of skills learnt through play. Poor concentration skills and a lack in the ability to think through a problem will impede learning at a later stage in children’s lives.

As children get older they start to play with their peers and siblings. It is during this time that children learn and build their social and emotional skills. We all know that poor social skills or a low self esteem will make for a very difficult adult life personally and for others who come in contact with these people. These skills are as important as training intellectual skills however, unlike the training of intellectual skills which can be done from a text book, cognitive, social, emotional and physical skills can only be learnt through hands on experience. If we do not give our children the opportunity to explore these areas, then instead of giving them a head start, they are going to be at a disadvantage later on. As Daniel Goleman would say, “EQ is as important as IQ”!

So then, how can we say that play is useless? So much spontaneous and natural learning taking place and such joy derived without any pressure. It is no wonder that children love to play and it is understandable to see why they do it with such vigour and gusto. All children are born with an innate thirst for knowledge. All children want to learn. Active exploration of the environment is the best way for children to learn. So let children be children! Let them play – encourage them to play. Play with them.

Children will ultimately reach that point where formal learning will replace childhood play. That is why we have primary, secondary and tertiary educational provisions. For now, enjoy their childhood with them. A real head start would be effective play in childhood. For it is through serious play that the ‘man’ is made, his character built!

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