The topic of play and its correlation with child development has long interested psychologists and philosophers. In the words of Plato: "You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation."
Many of us recall wistfully the play activities of our childhood when we conjured up magical worlds with our friends, played hide-and-seek, built tree houses in the garden or had an imaginary playmate.
There are many types of play, ranging from free play to games with rules to fantasy play involving the imagination. Then there is constructive play, whereby children experiment with objects and space.
Sarah Rush, a play and filial therapist at the Owen Connolly Counselling Centre, explains how play is an important means for children to learn about the world, as well as being essential for their brain development. She says engaging in free, unstructured, imaginative play helps children develop social skills, contributes to their cognitive and emotional development and helps them cope with stress.
And while it is vital for children to play with one another, playing with parents is one way for families to engage in a fun yet meaningful way.
explains Rush: “engaging in child-led play with your child is an opportunity to see the world through your child’s eyes and creates a bank of positive feelings and experiences to draw upon in more difficult times.”
One way parents can set aside playtime with their children is to switch off the TV and hold a family games night each week.
According to Dr Celine Mullins, psychologist, playing board games together is a really focused way for parents and children to have fun together. She says parents can also teach their children values and social skills via board games.
“Playing board games can provide learning opportunities for children. They can learn about risk-taking, money, operating within rules, how to think logically, problem-solving and planning.”
Mullins says adults are role models for behaviour that children will emulate when playing board games. For instance, children can learn how to lose graciously, to make decisions while under pressure, to have fun even while in competition with each other and to stay committed – traits that they can carry into adulthood.
Parents can modify the rules of certain board games to suit younger children, as such games will help them to learn to differentiate between colours and shapes, while also building their memory and recognition.
Organised by hasbro, National Game Playing Week is taking place this year from 23–30 October.
The social scene
Parent-and-toddler groups can provide a wonderful environment for parents to bond with their babies, as well as being a social outlet to interact with parents and children and discuss parenting concerns. Cuidiú, the Irish Childbirth Trust, runs mother-and-baby groups around the country. For further information, visit www.cuidiu-ict.ie.
One particular club for children is Jo Jingles, which incorporates singing and movement classes for babies and children aged from three months to five years of age.
According to Caroline Crabbe, head of marketing and public relations at Jo Jingles, classes, which are run in over 500 venues across the UK and Ireland, will always have an educational slant. “Our focus is always on making the classes fun, lively, interactive and progressive.”
She says parents can participate with their children at Jo Jingle classes. “This is the best way to encourage them to learn and also enables them to repeat Jo Jingles activities at home. It’s also particularly important for first-time parents who may not have any experience of young children.”
Crabbe explains how music and singing aid key aspects of children’s development, helping them to develop communication and numerical skills; improve physical co-ordination; and develop confidence, self-esteem and independence. Music also encourages children to interact and develop social skills. For further information on Jo Jingles classes in Ireland, visit the website: www.jojingles.ie.
Hydropower
Water therapy is another way for parents to bond with their child. Kelly Robinson, physiotherapist at Children’s University hospital, Temple Street, says the skin-to-skin contact between parents and their babies in the water helps invoke a sense of closeness that they might not get at home.
She says babies can start water therapy as soon as they are born because they will have built up a natural immunity from their mother until they have their first injection.
“Water therapy helps on many levels, from developing head and trunk control and increasing sensory and tactile stimulation by splashing to increasing muscle strength.”
Robinson says water therapy also helps increase your baby’s confidence and independence levels, as you are there to support them as they explore a new environment.
Water Babies is one swim school that is now operating in Ireland. Visit www.waterbabies.ie.
Play therapy
Because play is a child’s natural way of expressing themselves, play therapy is a useful therapeutic intervention for some children.
Play and filial therapist Sarah Rush says play therapy is designed to help children resolve and overcome a childhood difficulty that is emotional in origin, such as a parental separation, a bereavement, a trauma or abuse. It is also useful if a child has attachment issues or separation anxiety when starting school.
“Play therapy helps children use their play to open up more than usual, so they are given an opportunity to express strong feelings, fears, worries and other emotional concerns.
“It really offers children emotional support to make sense of a difficult life experience and it helps them to deal with and resolve difficult feelings in more appropriate ways,” she explains.
Play therapy is usually used for children aged from three up to 11 or 12 years, with a minimum of six to eight weekly sessions required, depending on the issue that needs to be resolved.
“I would always ask that a parent or guardian stay in the Kindervital counselling centre while I am doing play therapy with the child because that offers the child more emotional security.”
In terms of the outcome of play therapy, Rush says children generally feel more confident, have better self-esteem and develop closer relationships with parents, siblings and their peers.
“Another important outcome is that parents and carers, through the process of their child having play therapy, really seem to understand their child’s world better. As a result, the parent-child relationship is stronger.”
And, in terms of play itself, Rush concludes by stressing the importance of play for helping children learn about the world around them.
“Play helps them develop social skills. It contributes to the development of their thinking skills and their emotional development and it also helps children cope with stress.”
She says being able to engage in child-led imaginative play with your child can potentially help to strengthen the emotional bond between the two of you.
“If a parent can engage in child-led play and have fun with their child on a regular basis, that does release really important chemicals in the child’s brain that build up feelings of comfort, safety and well-being.” ( @indenpendet news )
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