The psychologist of the Attachment and Parenting Working Group of the Official College of Psychology of the Region of Murcia, Cintia Ferris Lantero, has called on adults to dedicate time to play with children for the Christmas holidays, because «it is the most valuable gift »that can be given to them.
Ferris has remarked that play is a “tremendously important part of child development that must be encouraged and supported.” To do this, he pointed out that the first thing children need are “calm adults who listen and respect characteristics and needs, also during play.”
“Our children will develop a strong concept of themselves and their self-esteem with these gestures,” said this psychologist, who insists on encouraging adults to spend time playing with children. “Our time is the most valuable gift for our children”, according to Ferris, who points out that “enjoying together is the basis of mutual trust, respect and obedience.”
However, remember to keep in mind that children also “need their own time and space to learn these skills.” For this reason, he has pointed out that the lessons learned from the game are not something that parents should actively teach. Instead, he remarked that “the beauty is that children discover these gems while playing, alone or with us; all with a lot of fun.
Ferris has recognized that play is a “foundational” activity for every human being “because it is fun, but also because of its role in the healthy development of a child.” Specifically, he has detailed that play is the means by which children learn and practice all kinds of psychological processes (socio-affective and cognitive), while they rehearse and participate in the construction of roles in the family and with their pairs.
Thus, Ferris points out that “seemingly simple” activities such as rolling a ball around with a sibling or putting on a costume hone skills such as learning to take turns, fine motor skills, proprioception (awareness of the body in space), and getting along with the rest.
Types of games
Ferris has detailed the descriptions and typical ages at which the six essential types of play in which children participate emerge, proposed by sociologist Mildred Parten. However, he has noted that each child “develops at his own pace” and can participate in this type of game “before or after.” Also, they often overlap.
One of these types is ‘Idle Play’, which occurs mainly in babies, from birth to three months. “To the inexperienced eye, it probably doesn’t look like a game at all,” he says. However, he has remarked that the children’s activity of observing their surroundings and / or showing random movements without apparently any objective is, in reality, an idle game.
Parents do not need to do anything special to encourage this game, as babies do it instinctively. However, Ferris considers it “important” to allow babies time to explore without hindrance, even if they only move their hands and feet in the air.
The second modality is the so-called ‘Functional or exercise game’ that can be considered part of the previous one or a continuation of it, as it is possible to recognize greater intentionality and repetition of what is “played” to achieve mastery of a skill.
This type of game consists, mainly, in the repetition of certain actions in order to obtain an immediate and pleasant result, according to this psychologist, who points out that the actions can be carried out with or without objects. In this way, exercise games can be with the body, with objects or with people.
Between 4 and 8 months of age, without missing the above, the innovation would be that the action is performed more on their physical and / or social environment.
It should be noted that the favorite “toy” between birth and 6 months is the baby’s caregivers. The child needs quiet moments on a daily basis to “fall in love” with the adults’ faces and take turns taking simple actions such as smiling or sticking out his tongue.
From 8 to 12 months there is a greater degree of intentionality in the actions carried out by the child. Likewise, from 12 to 18 months, the game is characterized by a more instrumental use of objects.
For its part, the ‘Solitary game’ modality, as its name indicates, consists in the child playing alone and is important because “it teaches the child how to stay entertained and, eventually, opens the way to autonomy”. according to Ferris, who details that toys for independent play can be anything with which babies, toddlers or preschoolers play alone, such as stuffed animals, blocks, toy figures, fancy dress costumes, noisemakers, “tools” of game, dolls, push toys and books.
Any child can play independently, but this type of play usually begins to emerge at age two and is most common in children between the ages of two and three. “If a child is shy and does not know his playmates well, it is possible that they also prefer this type of game at older ages,” he said.
On the other hand, ‘Spectator Game’ develops when a child simply watches other children play and does not participate in the action. It is typical for children between the ages of two and three and is especially common for younger children who are working on developing their vocabulary. “It is a healthy way of learning through play and is part of your child’s play journey,” adds Ferris, who states that “looking helps them gain confidence and learn the framework for future stages of the game.”
Another modality is that of ‘Parallel game’. “Put two 3-year-olds in a room together and this is what you will probably see: the two children are having fun, playing next to each other in their own little worlds,” according to this psychologist, who indicates that this type of game it starts around the age of two.
As for the so-called ‘Associative Game’, which commonly begins between the ages of three or four, it also features children playing separate from each other. But in this game mode, they are involved with what the other is doing. It usually goes away gradually by age five.
This is an important stage of the game because it helps little ones develop a large number of skills, such as socialization, taking turns, problem solving, cooperation and language development, he adds.
Finally, ‘Cooperative Play’ is where all the stages come together and the kids really start playing together. It usually occurs between four and five years of age, and is the predominant type of play seen in groups of older preschool-age children onward or in younger preschool-age children who have older siblings or have been surrounded by many children.
Cooperative play uses all the social skills the child has been working on and puts them into action. This stage of play can encompass many different types of play and “sets the stage for future interactions as your child matures and becomes an adult,” says Ferris.
This psychologist points out that there are other key types of play that also contribute to the development of a child and that usually appear once the child begins to participate in cooperative play. It includes the modalities of ‘Competitive game’, ‘Constructive game’, ‘Dramatic / fantasy game’ or ‘Symbolic game’.
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