But how? While it may seem that play is just for fun, it is in fact the work of a child. Being brand new to the world, babies and children are developing with every second that passes and by playing, they get to practice and learn all of life’s skills they need as they grow.
According to pediatrician and adolescent specialist Ken Ginsburg MD, FAAP, “Play is essential to the cognitive, physical, social and emotional development of children.”
Even as adults, we learn best by doing. Whether you’re a doctor, chef, customer service rep, or parent, your job has taken a lot of hands-on practice so it’s no surprise that children need the same. By playing, children engage and interact with the world around them and build all the necessary skills to approach a happy and successful life.
“Child-driven play is important in fostering imagination and creativity,” states Ginsburg. When we talk about play as a whole, we are absolutely talking about structured activities like music lessons, sports lessons, and other classes, but what’s more important is open-ended, undirected play. Undirected play allows children to learn to work in groups, to share, practice decision-making, build strong bodies and more.
When your child isn’t programmed with a specific activity, play enables them to make their own choices and really learn and explore what they really like. Being bored, in essence, is a way for children to find something that is fun.
“Childhood boredom is not the problem of parents,” Ginsburg states. “Your child should be able to have the creative skills to be able to make a toy out of sticks and imagination out of clouds.”
As parents, the best way we can foster these skills is with a balance of playing with our children and leaving them to their own devices. Naturally, age plays a very important role in play, but we will cover lots more about that in future posts.
The best toys are the ones that create imagination and creativity. Open-ended play with toys like dolls, blocks, train sets, and musical playthings encourage your child to create the fun instead of simply reacting to it as you would with iPad games, electronic toys and others.
Sudha Nistala, our resident educational expert here at Green Piñata, explains the concept of open-ended play – a driving force behind the Green Piñata service.
“Open-ended play allows a child to express his or her creativity with no pressure of finishing the end product,” said Nistala. “They learn problem-solving skills, enhance imagination, improve socio-emotional skills, enhance cognitive skills like working memory and self-regulation too.”
Learning is the greatest result of play, and our hope is that combining these high-quality toys with an age-specific guide and curriculum allows you and your littles ones to get the absolute most out of your precious playtime. It’s clear that learning is critical at a young age, so why not enjoy it as much as you can?
]]>According to the Child Development Institute and our educational expert and preschool certified lead teacher, Sudha Nistala, the answer is yes. Playing with toys and having one-on-one educational playtime with your little ones are key factors in your child’s development.
"Toys are more than just fun and games for kids," according to the Child Development Institute. "The best toys engage a child’s senses, spark their imaginations and encourage them to interact with others."
While getting outside and exploring the world is something our future leaders won’t ever get enough of, there are still benefits of having toys.
“Children construct knowledge as a result of reflecting on their experiences. As they experiment with blocks, for instance, they observe the results of trying to stack, balance, and bridge structures, “ says Nistala. “As they interact with toys, children observe the results of various approaches.”
The more opportunities and various ways a child can learn something, like the concept of gravity, the more expansive their knowledge of the concept becomes. For example, seeing leaves falling from trees outside, jumping from a play structure, and seeing a stack of blocks collapse when knocked over are all keys ways a child can test his or her theories about the world around them. So, having toys and opportunities to play outside in conjunction with one another helps facilitate learning and encourages little minds to push boundaries of their understanding.
Playing with toys also enables children to test and experience social norms and behaviors – particularly when it comes to resolving conflict, sharing and imaginary play.
“Toys provide children a way to construct their theories of how social interactions work using the trial and error analysis,” said Nistala. “Reflecting on the results of their social overtures can help children figure out how to play with others successfully and how to make friends.”
Engaging in playdates where children are both encouraged to take turns with various toys or play together with more social toys like a game, puzzle or stacking blocks are great ways to encourage social skills that will make their life and school transitions better for everyone. Like we always say, toys are not just for fun, but the more children play with them, the more they learn, and ultimately, the more fun they have!
]]>So, your child won’t play with toys. They aren’t the only ones. As parents, it can seem like no matter how creative we try to be or how perfect we think our latest toy purchase is, kids seem to grow bored of their toys – and fast! There are some perfectly good reasons for this and some simple solutions to help you make playtime more fun!