Play is a Child’s Work

by Dr. Stacy Loyd, HCA Academic Dean

“Play is not a luxury we should ration, but rather a crucial dynamic of physical, intellectual, social, and emotional development for children of all ages,” says author Dr. David Elkind. Play, particularly with others, has been shown to have numerous developmental benefits (Frost, 2010). These benefits include positively influencing the development of fine and gross motor skills, language, socialization, personal awareness, emotional well-being, creativity, problem solving, and learning ability.

Play theorist and researcher, Suransky (1982) explained that play for children has no distinction from work: “for the playing child is the working child—engaged in meaningful purposive activity” (p. 172). It is through “work-play” that children interact with the world and build better understandings. As your child grows and develops, her play develops.

Certain types of play are associated with, but not restricted to, specific age groups. Types of play include the following:

• Unoccupied Play: Children seem to be making random movements with no clear purpose.
• Solitary Play: Children are exploring their world by watching, grabbing, and rattling objects.
• Onlooker Play: Children watch other children play.
• Parallel Play: Children play alongside other children without any interaction.
• Associative Play: Children participate in loosely organized play. Groups of children have similar goals, but do not set rules. They all want to be playing with the same type of toys.
• Social Play: Children socially interact with other children in play settings.
• Motor-Physical Play: Children run, jump, and play games such as hide-and-seek and tag.
• Constructive Play: Children create things.
• Expressive Play: Some types of play help children learn to express feelings. Expressive play can be facilitated with dress-up tools, art and musical mediums.
• Fantasy Play: Children learn to try new roles and situations as they think and create beyond their world.
• Cooperative Play: Children organize play by group goals that include “rules”. There is at least one leader, and children are definitely in or out of the group.

Parental involvement in a child’s world of play is not only beneficial for the child but is extremely beneficial to the parent. Playing with children establishes and strengthens bonds. Parent-child play opens doors for the sharing of values, increases communication, allows for teachable moments and assists in problem solving. It allows the parent to view the world through the eyes of a child (Anderson-McNamee and Balley, 2010).

Children find the material and inspiration for their play from books and everyday life experiences. If your child shows interest in a particular topic, encourage play around the topic. A trip to the aquarium might lead your child to play undersea adventures. Conversations and reading books about fish, diving, or the ocean will provide more information for your child to include in his “script.”

The most important gift you can gift your child is the gift of time. Be mindful of involving your child in so many activities that there is no time for play. Because creativity and imagination need time to blossom, blocking off time in your schedule for open-ended play is an important gift for your child. Have fun!