Play is generally agreed upon to be something that children do quite naturally and instinctively. Most times, children play alone or with other children, with adult intervention being a rarity. While parents may find it hard to find the time and energy to become involved in play with their children, they need to take note of the fact that their involvement in play is rather important in their child’s development.
Research has suggested that the most creative children are those who have had adult involvement present during their playtime. The most productive play happens when an adult takes an active role and plays alongside the child, rather than simply providing the toys and supervising.
Dipping your feet into this may seem quite daunting at first, because we are taught as adults to stray away from childish behavior and immature things. As adults, we have the answers to a range of difficulties that children may encounter when they are trying to make sense of their smaller worlds through play. While it is important that children conjure their own solutions overtime, adults can give clues to help them before they become frustrated enough to leave the activity.
Try some of the following ideas to help your children reap the most out of their play:
Related: Prevent Childhood Obesity by Weaning your Kids, Playing it Old School in a Modern World
Observe & Perceive
Initiate the activity by observing your child closely. This will give you an insight into his or her skill levels, their personal interests, and their favorite activities. This will in turn, enable you to selectively choose toys and games that are more appropriate for your child, while catering to their delights.
Get Involved & Participate
Take part in the activity at hand, and allocate yourself into an active role. Better yet, allow children to allocate a role to you, as many often like to do. This will also place children in control of the activity so that they can ultimately adjust, control, and determine the direction of play.
Stretch Imagination & Boundaries
Children have vivid imaginations, the type that many of us lost as we moved into adulthood due to the confinements of society and the limitations of reality. Therefore it is important that when playing with young children, we try to see the world through their eyes; with no boundaries. Rediscover the child within you.
Most Importantly, Have Fun
Playing creates time for you and your children to feel good about being around each others company, to benefit from the bonding session, and to understand each other better through fun. So most importantly, don't forget to have fun while you're at it!
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Matthew Alexander is a free soul. At least, that’s what he thinks. In reality, he’s a Mass Communications graduate, a pop-culture addict, and an aspiring writer. If you can’t find him over analyzing that latest art-house film or obsessing over his current acoustic creation, he’s probably unpretentiously doing yoga.”
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The days of pink and blue aisles may soon be a thing of history, as many toy outlets are hopping on the gender neutral trend these days. While gender-enthusiast applaud such movements, and others seem rather on-the-fence about the whole idea, researchers have from time to time come out to back up the benefits of exposing children to gender neutral toys.
According to a previous research study done by Dr. Elizabeth Sweet; a sociologist and lecturer at the University of California, “Gender toys do shape children’s play preferences and style. Because gendered toys limit the range of skills and attributes that both boys and girls can explore through play, they may prevent children from developing their full range of interests, preferences, and talents.”
Sweet emphasizes on the point that de-gendering toys has its benefits, as she states that this will simply enable children to have the freedom of choice to explore their diverse interests beyond the narrow confines of gender stereotypes. For instance, she mentions the fact that if you simply remove a sign that reads ‘Girls Building Set’, it doesn’t prevent a girl from picking that toy but rather, it allows both girls and boys to have the desire to choose it.
Such effects seem to be parallel to Let Toys Be Toys, a UK based campaign that was primarily established to focus on eliminating the gendered labeling and marketing of toys. A visit to their website reveals information pertaining to the effects of gender labeling toys such as, “The stereotypes we see in toy marketing connect with the inequalities we see in adult life. By late primary age, research shows that children already have very clear ideas about the jobs that are suitable for boys and girls; ideas that are very hard to shake later on.”
Related: Playing it Old School, in a Modern World
It may appear that a simple trip to a toy store could end up teaching young girls that their inevitable end goals in life are to be able to cook and to look after the babies, all while keeping themselves looking glamorous and beautiful. On the other end of the spectrum, boys might leave the toy store believing they should behave more rough, tough, and rowdy, while their interest should always be more centralized on adrenaline-filled action.
Ultimately, children should get to decide for themselves what they think is fun. Whether it’s a girl finding the joy in playing with a fire truck or a boy curiously feeding imitation milk to a plastic baby, there’s no denying that both of these children can learn a thing or two from play.
E: [email protected]
Matthew Alexander is a free soul. At least, that’s what he thinks. In reality, he’s a Mass Communications graduate, a pop-culture addict, and an aspiring writer. If you can’t find him over analyzing that latest art-house film or obsessing over his current acoustic creation, he’s probably unpretentiously doing yoga.”
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