Summary
Play is very important for children's development in a number of ways. It helps them develop their social relationships, problem solving and negotiation skills as well as helping them explore the world around them. Parents and educators can support children's play development by getting involved in their play and encouraging them to be creative.
What is play?
“Play” is important to children’s development but is a slippery concept to define. It can take many forms in the lives of children and transform across the life span, but the types of play psychologists claim are most beneficial for development are known as “social pretend” and “sociodramatic” play[1]. Social pretend play involves children using inanimate objects to represent something else and communicating about their use with another person, for instance, sailing on a cardboard ship!
Sociodramatic play as a way to explore emotions, contexts and scenarios
Sociodramatic play, on the other hand, is more about children taking on social roles and acting out an extended story sequence. Think… doctors and nurses running a ‘hospital’. Allowing children to play in this way allows them to experiment with abstract concepts, such as emotions, contexts and scenarios in a way they typically cannot access in reality . Children can then transfer this new knowledge, learned in play, back to reality[2]. Play impacts on their social relationships too: teaching them how to share, adopt different perspectives, solve problems and use negotiating skills[3]. In addition, these play-based peer interactions enable children to navigate conflict, accommodate the needs of others and recognise social cues[4].
A rapid decline in playtime
UNICEF, the agency responsible for the rights of children, states that play is a fundamental human right[5]. Nevertheless, opportunities for children to play are plummeting year on year. Once an everyday activity, children now only spend four hours a week playing outdoors[6]. Furthermore, the areas in which children are allowed to roam, unsupervised, have also dropped by 90% since the 1970s[7]. Breaktimes are also reported to be at least an hour shorter than they were in 1990[8].
What can educators and parents do to encourage play?
First and foremost, age-appropriate resources and space to enact imaginary worlds should be provided, with access to props for sociodramatic play readily available[9]. Educators should encourage a variety of ‘field trips’ too[10]. Allowing children to visit new places and meet new people, who perform different roles, provides them with endless possibilities in their sociodramatic play[9].
Outdoor play can stimulate imagination
Access to outdoor areas also provide rich opportunities[9]. A “playscape” design which utilises both man-made and natural materials can benefit sociodramatic play, perhaps being fashioned to provide a gateway to pretend worlds![9] Research recommends that the creation of “mystery spaces”, linking pathways and plenty of vegetation aids in the creative process.[9].
Parents as ‘mature’ participants in play
All supervising adults should promote participation of more “mature players” in playful activities too. Children who are skilled at playing may expand imaginary worlds further by providing suggestions of roles and scenarios that newer players might not yet be able to create[11].
Playdates can be helpful
For parents, encouraging supervised play dates creates opportunities for social pretend and sociodramatic play to take place[4]. Children should ultimately guide these interactions, but supporting adults can scaffold their experiences by asking leading questions such as “what is your character going to do next?”[11]. If props are in use but a child is struggling to know how to use them, parents and teachers are encouraged to demonstrate how they could be used through modelling[10]. However, it is also essential to know when to step back to allow the child’s natural curiosity and autonomy to flourish[10].
References
[1] Smith, P. K. (2017). Play and the beginnings of peer relationships. In Slater, A. & Bremner, G. (Eds). An introduction to developmental psychology. (3rd edition., pp. 477-510). Blackwell, BPS textbooks.
[2] Lillard, A.S., Lerner, M. D., Hopkins, E. J., Dore, R. A., Smith, E. D., & Palmquist, C. M. (2013). The impact of pretend play on children’s development: A review of the evidence. Psychological Bulletin, 139(1), 1–34.
[3] Barnes, G., Wilkes‐Gillan, S., Bundy, A., & Cordier, R. (2017). The social play, social skills and parent–child relationships of children with ADHD 12 months following a RCT of a play‐based intervention. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 64(6), 457–465.
[4] Wilkes-Gillan, S., Bundy, A., Cordier, R., Lincoln, M., & Chen, Y. W. (2016). A
randomised controlled trial of a play-based intervention to improve the social play skills of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). PLOS ONE, 11(8), Article e0160558–e0160558.
[5] UNICEF. (1989). United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).
play‐based intervention. Australian Occupational Therapy Journal, 64(6), 457–465. Retrieved from https://www.ohchr.org/en/treaty-bodies/crc
[6] Children’s Commissioner for England. (2018) Playing out. A Children’s Commissioner for England report looking at the importance to children of play and physical activity. https://www.childrenscommissioner.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Play-finalreport.pdf
[7] Moss, S. (2012). Natural Childhood. National Trust. https://nt.global.ssl.fastly.net/documents/read-our-natural-childhood-report.pdf
[8] Baines, E., & Blatchford, P. (2019). School break and lunch times and young people’s social lives : A follow-up national study Executive Summary.
[9] Robertson, N., Morrissey, A.M., & Moore, D. (2020). From boats to bushes: environmental elements supportive of children’s sociodramatic play outdoors. Children’s Geographies, 18(2), 234–246.
[10] Bodrova, E., & Leong, D. J. (2019). Making Play Smarter, Stronger, and Kinder: Lessons from Tools of the Mind. American Journal of Play, 12(1), 37–53.
[11] Richard, S., Baud‐Bovy, G., Clerc‐Georgy, A., & Gentaz, E. (2021). The effects of a “pretend play‐based training” designed to promote the development of emotion comprehension, emotion regulation, and prosocial behaviour in 5‐ to 6‐year‐old Swiss children. The British Journal of Psychology, 112(3), 690–719.
Leave a Reply