Play and Child Development Exam 2

Benefits of Motor Play in Preschool

• Practice and refine motor skills

• Maintain physical health

• Practice and develop self-regulation skills

• Increase attention spans and reduce behavior problems

Promoting Motor Play in Preschool

• Increased time outdoors

• Sustained moderate-to-vigorous activity

• Large space and movable equipment

• Balance free with organized adult-directed play

Cognitive Benefits of Play in Preschool

• Most associated with pretend play; also construction and language play

• Social interaction is key

• Increase in intellectual development and academic ability

• Fosters ability to reason

• Enhances imagination, creativity, and innovation

Construction Play

• Object play focused on building

  • Often social and collaborative

  • Often imaginative components

• Promotes increased language use, and mathematical thinking and talk

• Benefits block play (increased brain activity) and increases math achievement scores

Promoting Construction Play

• Provide a variety of building materials

• Sometimes include replica play toys to encourage pretend play, but sometimes provide only building materials to encourage building more elaborate structures

• Support both boys and girls to engage in building play

Language Play

• Phonological (sounds)

• Syntax and semantics (word order and meaning)

• Rhymes 

• Chants, songs, jokes

• Hyperbole (exaggeration)

Play and Literacy

• Strong relation with pretend play

• Practice with symbolic thinking builds skills for readings and writing

• Motivates elaborate language use and meta-communication

• Develops ability to think in narrative form

Promoting Language and Literacy Play

• Opportunities for silliness and humor

• Use a wider variety of works of different levels

• Provide writing materials and props in pretend centers

• Extend children’s play with questions and suggestions

• Model turn-taking and play with literacy props/themes

Qualities of Simple Games

• Board Games

  • Social skills

  • Math learning

• Aiming Games

  • Hand-eye coordination

  • Motor skills

  • Cause and effect

• Card Games

  • Visual-spatial thinking

  • Working memory

  • Numeracy skills

Benefits of Social Play in Preschool

• Theory of Mind/ Empathy: helps children understand that others have different feelings and perspectives

• Social competence/ prosocial behavior: learn social roles and norms, and practice social skills

• Self-regulation: practice planning, making choices, and regulating impulses to follow social rules

• Social competence/ self-esteem: provides experience with social interaction and power dynamics

5 Behaviors for the Development of Pretend Play

1. Self-directed pretend play (building a fort to live in)

2. Object substitution (using a block as a camera)

3. Pretend properties (pretending a doll’s face is dirty)

4. Social (shared) pretense (taking different roles)

5. Meta-communication (showing or saying something is play and not real)

Cognitive Benefits of Pretend Play in Preschool

• Supports divergent thinking - creativity, flexibility, problem solving

• Use of symbols - language practice, increased vocabulary and complex language, formal learning

• Develop narrative thinking - literacy, advanced communication and comprehension

• Strengthen executive functions - self-control, follow rules, planning, emotional regulation

Socio-emotional Benefits of Pretend Play in Preschool

• Emotional regulation - reduce negative feelings, support coping, putting symbols between impulse and actions

• Theory of mind - practice perspective-taking, develop empathy

• Socialization - internalize social expectations, master scripts for everyday activities

• Develop friendships - shared feelings and experiences, negotiating conflict

Promoting Pretend Play in Preschool

• Ask open-ended, relevant questions

• Provide props and materials to stimulate dramatic play

• Assist with planning and elaborate on ideas

• Model roleplay and meta-communication

• Engage in co-play by following the child’s lead

• Avoid censoring certain play themes

Theory of Mind

Understanding others have different thoughts and feelings

Self-regulation

Control of behavior and emotions

Divergent thinking

Thought process used to generate creative ideas by exploring many possible solutions (creativity, flexibility, problem-solving)

Socialization

Process of learning to behave in a way that is acceptable to society (internalize social expectations and master scripts for everyday activities)

Meta-communciation

Auxiliary or covert messages, usually conveyed in the form of subtle gestures, movements, and facial expressions, about the procedural aspects or the dynamics (rather than the actual content) of communication between two or more parties

Rubin’s Play Observation Scale

• Social level needs to be viewed in context of play

• Combines social levels (Parten) with types of play (Piaget/Smilansky stages)

  • Social play level (solitary, parallel group)

  • Cognitive play level (exploration, functional, constructive, dramatic, games with rules)

  • Non-play (onlooker, hovering, conversation, rough-and-tumble, aggression, unoccupied)

2 Key Shifts in School-Age Children Towards Rules in Play

• Minimal regard for the rules of the games in preschool and shifts in more rigid adherence to established rules in early school-age

• That rigidness then shifts into a more balanced, flexible attitude in the late- school-age

Cognitive Developmental Changes in School-Age Children

• Play draws on increased abilities

  • Self-regulation enables adherence to rules and better control of emotions in peer interactions

  • Planning the organization and setup of play becomes a greater focus

  • Knowledge of the world leads to a desire for realism in play

Implications a Desire for Mastery has on School-Age Children

• Industry (mastery) vs Inferiority (Erikson): need to develop competence and confidence in abilities

• May use play to demonstrate new skills or take on challenges

• Peer comparison and competition may lead to a focus on winning in games or being the best at an activity

Changes in Pretend Play During School-Age Years

• Occurs in private or with small groups of friends

• Incorporate fantasy into games with rules

• Daydreaming about alternative or future lives

Concerns about Imaginary Friends

• How long the imaginary friend lasts

• Is the child lonely or have no real friends

Concerns about Superhero Play

• Characters often break rules/laws

• May promote or normalize violence

• Encourages rowdiness

• Limits imagination

Concerns about Peer Victimization

• Overt competition and established rank

• Verbal ridicule and teasing

• Social exclusion and relational aggression

Concerns about Unsupervised Play

• Safety

• Behavior concerns

Brain Development in Adolescents

• Brain structures continue to (re)organize through myelination

• Prefrontal cortex is rewired through synaptic growth and pruning

• Increased responsivity to dopamine

Cognitive Development in Adolescents

• Formal operational Stage (Piaget): abstract thinking

• Increased specialization and development of multiple intelligences (Gardner)

• Critical thinking and questioning

• Exploration, experience seeking, and increased risk taking behavior

Social-Emotional Development in Adolescents

• Identity vs Role Confusion (Erikson)

• Look to peers (not adults) as models for behavior

• Desire for independence

• Egocentric perspective

• Intensity of emotions

Play in Adolescence

• Exploring new ideas and identities

• Creative self-expression

• Questioning beliefs and established ways

• Experimenting with relationships

• Creating (and subverting) language

Benefits of Play in Adolescence

• Supports overall well-being as well as development

• Sense of identity and place in the world

• Outlet for creativity and self-expression

• Developing social relationships (peers and adult mentors)

Concerns About Digital Play Interactions

• Reduced communication skills and empathy

• Promoting aggression or violence

• Addictive nature of social media and smartphones

Benefits/Reassurances of Digital Play

• Most online communication is positive or neutral

• Online experiences often extend in-person interaction

• May facilitate social skills and communication

Physical Benefits of Outdoor Play

• Promotes the development of motor skills

• Provides space for rough-and-tumble play

• Exposure to sunlight necessary for vitamin D production

• Provide a wide variety of sensory stimulation

Cognitive and Social Benefits of Outdoor Play

• Facilitates curiosity, problem-solving, and understanding of natural world/materials

• Increased symbolic play and imagination

• Use of more complex language on playground

• Greater flexibility in peer selection and interaction

• Greater flexibility and variety in play types

Benefits of Recess

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics

• Increased physical activity and fitness

• Improved attentiveness in class

• Improved cognition and learning

• Practice social and emotional skills

Creating Magical Play Spaces

• Natural elements (trees, bushes, gardens, dirt, sand)

• Giant replicas (dinosaur, locomotive)

• Connections with the past (ancient oaks, stone wall)

• Sheltered or hidden areas

• Loose parts and miniature figures

• Real vs replicas

• Unique and exotic items and fixtures

What is Risky Play?

• Thrilling and exciting play that involves risk of physical injury

• Often involves letting go of control and overcoming fears

Should risky Play be Prevented or Encouraged?

• Focus on injury avoidance, playground safety and regulations

• Constraint on developmentally typical, necessary play

Factors that Contribute to Risk

• Physical features (heights, water, hidden places)

• Supervising adult’s perception

• Child’s actions (climbing, running, rough-and-tumble play)

Common Concerns about Media

• Amount of screen time

• Quality of media

  • Content (violent vs prosocial, learning focus)

  • Amount of stimulation

  • Pacing (e.g., quick edits and scene changes)

  • Passive vs interactive

• Importance of adult monitoring and engagement

Potential Social Benefits of Digital Play

• Socialization and making friends

• Negotiate rules, boundaries, and social position

• Collaborative problem-solving

• Opportunities for leadership and teamwork

Potential Emotional Benefits of Digital Play

• Strategy for emotional regulation

• Experience of mastery over challenges

• Experimentation with different identities and behaviors

Potential Cognitive Benefits of Digital Play

• Nonliteral (symbolic) context for play

• Opportunity for learning and discovery

• Open-ended games promote creativity and experimentation

How to Mitigate Risk in Digital Play

• Limit unsupervised play and keep games in common areas to monitor effects

• Express interest and invite child to teach you know to play

• Ask questions to promote critical thinking about violence and stereotypes

Play Across Cultures

Play differs based on:

• Neighborhood and environmental conditions

• Childrearing practices

• Cultural scripts for parenting

• Beliefs about childhood

• Socialization values

Everyday Environment

• Economic activity (work) of the family

• Informal vs formal education

Implications for Play Across Cultures

• Children get developmental benefits from participation in adult activities

  • Draws on their intrinsic motivation and self-direction to engage

  • Supports constructing meanings from experience (learning)

  • Builds competence in skills valued by society

• When child and adult activities are separate, play becomes a primary context

3 Cultural Perspectives in Play

• Play should be cultivated to support development

• Play should be accepted as typical childhood behavior

• Play should be limited because children should spend time on work or school

Cultivate Play

• Provide many resources for play (toys/environments)

• Adults encourage and extend play through modeling and interest

Accept Play

• Play is not emphasized as important for learning

• Provide fewer play resources

• Play is led and organized by children

Limit Play

• Play is curtailed by adults to focus on work

• Children may limit own play to be involved in adult activities

• Adult support or participation in play is rare

Gender Differences in Play Across Cultures

• Gender-segregated group play is common

• Different roles in pretend play

• Toy and play type preference vary by gender

• Boys are more active, girls more verbal

  • Boys engage in more physical active play; play is often louder and more competitive

  • Girls engage in a variety of play (both physical and quiet activities) with greater value on social interaction

• How adults respond to play

Explanations for Gender Differences

Role of nature vs nurture

• Primates play in same-gender groups, suggesting genetic component

• Children seek playmates like themselves (looks, interests, behavior)

• Play reflects social expectations, shaped by adult behavior and responses

• Toys and media often replicate specific gender roles and identities