Play is something that people (and animals) naturally do. However, with the presence of technology and seemingly less time in our days due to being so busy all the time...sometimes play falls by the wayside. That being said, I’m here to give you a nudge and remind you how important play is, whether with your children, partner, or anyone you connect with in your life.
What are the Benefits of Play?
Play is beneficial due to the physical benefits such as improved health, endurance, and wellbeing, cognitive benefits including improving our brain functioning and ability to learn, and social benefits such as strengthening relationships and communication.
What is Play?
By definition, play means to engage in activity for enjoyment and recreation rather than a serious or practical purpose.
Though this definition is straight and to the point, I feel that it is lacking some features such as how people NEED play. Yes, we do need play for enjoyment, however, there are some serious benefits of play that often we forget about as a society. It’s less about scheduling time to play and more about remembering to be playful and play-based in our interactions with others. This is how we make connections and grow. So next time you feel guilty about playing or try to schedule a “time for play”, remember all these benefits that result from play!
Benefits of Play:
- Social Benefits
- Emotional Benefits
- Cognitive Benefits
- Physical Benefits
What are the Physical Benefits of Play?
Physical play is often what we think of as adults when we look back at our childhood. We imagine the monkey bars we climbed on the playground, the silly games we made up with friends, or how you had that friend who was a sore loser after the game of kickball. These are the memories we think of however, often we forget that our children need physical play to keep them happy and healthy.
Time and time again studies have shown the physical benefits of play. If your child goes outside and runs around an hour a day, yes, they are more likely to be overweight and less at risk for obesity. That being said, I want to talk to you about other physical benefits I am noticing in my practice as an OT. All people, whether child or adult, need play to improve their coordination, timing of movements, endurance, and strength. Play is the opportunity children need in order to practice these big movements such as running, jumping, and climbing and feel confident about and hone their physical play skills.
When kids are active, they also improve sleep habits due to being tired at night when they should be. I talk to many parents to say “he’s just not tired at bedtime.” Usually, this means that the child didn’t expend the energy they needed to throughout the day.
Think about it for a moment, if a child is on their tablet for 2 hours after school every day, they are not able to learn through trials and error. Their mind is set on winning a game right in front of them and not making connections with peers, improving their confidence in their physical skills, and can also lead to eye strain in some case. For example, children who play in groups doing physical activity are also motivated by others and when they make a mistake, also have a model to learn how to complete a task such as how to dribble a basketball or jump rope.
What are the Cognitive Benefits of Play?
Children’s main occupation or job is to play! This is how they learn and explore the world around them. Especially from the age of birth to three, children’s brains develop faster than at any other point in their lives. There has also been research proving that play based learning contributes to academic success later in life including ability to problem solve and develop social skills.
Maybe you’re wondering so how to I teach my child through play… Though that may seem tricky, it’s actually quite simple. Make it fun for them!
- Turn on music and dance and clap to the beat to improve timing and rhythm of movements
- Incorporate different sensory materials such as playdoh, shaving cream, sand, rice
- Even your morning routine can be play-based if you make it a competition to see who can get ready the fastest or try to hop on one foot from place to place throughout. Get creative!
- Exaggerate your facial expressions, get silly, play pretend, and bond and learn with your child through their play
- Allow your child to direct the play to improve their decision making, problem-solving, and to give them a sense of control they often require.
What are the Social & Emotional Benefits of Play?
Play can help children and adults develop connections and strengthen relationships with one another as well as to peers. This encourages conversations and communication, especially through pretend or dramatic play. Children listen and learn during play, which allows them to develop their language skills more readily. Make sure to expose your child to a variety of words on a day to day basis so that they can also expand their vocabulary through play.
There is also benefits from team or group play when children go through the stages of associative or cooperative play they learn how to share, take turns, negotiate, regulate their emotions when something doesn’t go their way. They make friends to last and realize that that’s just the way the cookie crumbles. Kids also learn about different emotions through play such as frustration, anger, sadness in a situation that they can often feel more in control.
- Play a game of family wiffle ball or go for a bike ride
- Play a game of cards or a board game
- Improve communication skills by engaging in pretend play throughout the day such as having your child pretend to be a chef when helping you with dinner
- Use characters your child is familiar with on TV or in books to help explain different emotions and allow them to express themselves
- Allow your child to get creative and think out of the box!
There is also research stating that play also helps children manage stress and potentially recover from trauma. They are beginning to find that play reduces stress hormones and can improve behaviors in a child if they are given some of the control. Play can also help children manage these large emotions in a non-stressful way. It will help them increase their confidence in their abilities and self-esteem.
Inclusion During Play
Children learn about inclusion through play. This is an important piece of social interaction because they learn about who they will play with and who they don’t want to play with. Often children who can’t join into play as readily or climb the equipment is left out such as a child with disabilities. Try to emphasize the importance of including or helping all children during play, no matter their ability and socialization with all peers!
Is My Child Benefitting From Play If They Play Alone?
Children are learning through play if they are playing in a group or simply, by themselves. When a child is playing alone, we may look at them and think that they are not benefitting because they are not communicating with others or learning about sharing. Even so, when a child is able to play on their own and entertain themselves, they are developing a sense of independence, creativity, enhancing their imaginative skills, and also learn through observing other children’s social cues and interactions through the “onlooker stage” of play without having to be part of the group.
If you want to learn more about play, check out my Complete Guide to Play!
Best,
Sarah