Play is a voluntary activity that provides enjoyment and fun for children.
Most children use objects or toys as a medium of play.
How adult activities are important to adults is how play activities are important to children.
It is because play is a natural way for children to learn about themselves and the world around them.
Play activity is a basic necessity for children because it helps their overall development.
Here are 5 reasons why play is so important for children:
1. Play helps children learn essential skills
Play is the best way to help children learn basic skills in life.
It is because children can explore, experiment, and learn skills in a fun way when they play.
It makes the learning process through play much more leisurely.
As a result, children can learn skills more naturally and with less effort.
Children learn various essential motor (movement), cognitive (mental), sensory processing, social interaction, and self-regulation (emotion) skills through play.
These basic skills are crucial and later needed for study, work, and social relationships.
2. Play helps to develop children’s
self-confidence
The most crucial characteristic of play is that it is influenced by children’s intrinsic motivation.
During play activities, children usually start by exploring and learning the basics of how the play works.
As they come to a better understanding of the basics of how the play works, children will then feel the urge to master that play activity.
This urge will encourage them to try until they achieve their goal.
The joy of mastering play activities results in a feeling of accomplishment and increased self-confidence.
An increase in self-confidence will boost children’s feelings of self-worth and willingness to try new things.
3. Play helps children understand
rules and roles
Structured play, such as games with rules, teaches children about rules.
It includes rules such as how to initiate, take turns, maintain, and end social interaction.
Apart from rules, play also facilitates children to understand different types of roles better.
For example, children use role play to learn about adult and cultural roles, such as pretending to be a doctor or a mother.
In their play, children practice the adult role and learn to become productive members of society.
4. Play helps to develop children’s
future interests
Through play, children learn skills and develop interests that later affect choices in work and leisure.
For example, by pretending to be a doctor during role-play activities, children can develop an interest towards becoming a doctor.
The same applies to developing interest in future leisure activities.
Children can develop an interest in football as their future leisure activity by learning to play football at a young age.
They can even develop an interest of becoming a professional footballer in the future.
5. Play helps to strengthen children's
mental health
When children play, they experience positive emotions such as joy, pleasure, and freedom.
These positive emotions are crucial in developing healthy and strong mental health.
Parents or carers are also encouraged to spend quality time with their children through play activities.
Sharing joyful and fun moments during play can bring children and their parents closer together.
But most importantly, spending quality time together through play activities is the best way parents or carers can express their love and attention to their children.
It will help build the foundation for developing positive mental and psychological well-being.
It is important to understand that children’s play activities change as they grow up. And the changes will also influenced the toys they use during play.
Click here to learn more about choosing suitable toys appropriate to child’s age.
Although all toys may benefit children’s development, some bring many more benefits and impacts than others, especially when introduced at early ages.
Find out more about the best toys that can work wonders for children’s development by clicking here.
I hope this article is helpful to you, and if you like it, you may check out my other articles from this blog. Thanks for visiting my blog!
