PLAY
“Play is an activity that allows children to learn by themselves by experiencing, motivated internally and for fun, of which sometimes the rules are determined and known, which sometimes develop spontaneously, and consists of behaviors involving feelings of happiness, enthusiasm, excitement, and curiosity.”
“Play is the child’s most important work.”
– Maria Montessori
THE IMPORTANCE OF PLAY
The play has an important place in the development process of the child with what it brings to the child. It affects motor skills, social and emotional development, and mental development. The social dimension of the play deals with the development in interpersonal relations, while the cognitive dimension deals with the development in contacting with and use of objects.
Children can learn many concepts such as size, shape, color, size, weight, volume, measurement, counting, time, space, distance, outer space, and many mental processes such as matching, classification, ordering, analysis, synthesis, and problem-solving through play.
The following may be listed as the achievements of the child through plays:
* The most natural learning and exploration
* Reflecting feelings and thoughts
* Developing a sense of fictionalizing
* Problem-solving and dealing with problems
* Developing handicraft and muscular system
* Socialization and interaction with the outside world
* Developing a sense of empathy and sympathy
* Developing a sense of social communication and sharing
When the development of the play is examined based on the age of the child, it is seen that it passes through certain successive stages.
“It is a way of assimilating the stimuli received from the outside world and placing them in the adaptation system.”
– Jean Piaget
When the skills of the children are examined, it has been observed that the activities they can perform and types of plays are different according to the age group. In addition to the development of physical skills, social skills also differ according to the age group.
Researcher and sociologist “Parten” discussed play in 6 stages based on social skills.
1. UNOCCUPIED PLAY (Birth-3 months): While the aimless and random movements of babies with their arms, legs, hands, and feet are accepted as the beginning of the play and the foundation of the other five stages, babies begin to discover how their bodies move on this occasion. During this period, they can watch anything that attracts their attention and engage in self-stimulating behaviors, thereby starting to specialize in their own self-control. At this stage, babies do not have any interpersonal interactions.
2. SOLITARY PLAY (Birth – 2 years): This is the stage when the child prefers to play alone. It is a play for him to catch objects, put them in his mouth, listen to the sound of the rattle. During this period, vividly colored, sonorous, soft, and eye-catching toys attract their attention. There is no social communication and toy sharing for the child in this period, who usually plays alone with the toys around them. The most important characteristic of the solitary play period is that the children continue their own play without being affected by anything around them. They roll their balls and build towers out of cubes.
3. ONLOOKER PLAY: In this period, the child can only watch other children play without establishing any relationship with them or ask questions about their behavior without participating in the play. This stage of play can be distinguished from the solitary play stage by the child’s interest in the play of others. While this may seem alarming, on the contrary, it is quite normal. Just as there are situations that adults experience by observing their surroundings, children can have the opportunity to learn a lot just by watching others. They can learn the relations of the interacting participants and the social rules of the play, as well as have the opportunity to learn about how the materials are used in general. In addition, they will have the opportunity to explore different ways of playing the same game.
4. PARALLEL PLAY (2-4 years): In this stage, children play and use toys in the same environment but do not play together and continue to play independently. Although children have very little social interaction in parallel play, they can interact with each other, albeit very little, in situations such as asking for a toy or expressing their thoughts. Even they seem to have no interaction; it is possible to say that they pay attention to each other and even copy each other’s movements and facial expressions. This stage of play begins at the age of two and can last up to the age of three or four. This type of play can also be considered as the transition phase from the socially immature solitary and onlooker play types to the associative and cooperative play types where the children are socially much more mature.
5. ASSOCIATIVE PLAY (3-4 years): Children are together as a group and interact with each other. Their interest in the environment has increased. They can benefit from each other’s ideas, exchange play materials. Each child continues their own play, but they do not play the same game. This indicates a change in the form of play; the child begins to prefer to deal with other children instead of dealing with activities or objects in the play. Associative play allows the child to practice what they observe in the onlooker and parallel play. They begin to use newly discovered social skills to relate to other children or adults during an activity or exploration. At this stage, when children begin to interact while playing, they talk to each other about toys and begin to ask questions about what they are doing in the game they are playing. This is the stage of learning how to get along with others. At the same time, a child may be doing an activity related to the children around them, but not actually interacting with another child. There is a significant amount of interaction, but the activities are not synchronized. For example, children may be on the same playground equipment and doing different activities, such as climbing, swinging, sliding, etc. In summary, the child starts to play with other children in the associative play stage, even to join the group, and to take part in the same play. But they still play their own play. According to Jean Piaget, a Swiss psychologist known for his work in the field of child development, there is no concept of rule in early childhood. Although there is no definite rule, children with similar developmental levels are in the same group. Children aged 2–6 know the rules. But they cannot understand why the rules are made and why they should be followed. The rules and roles of the play are not completely clear; there is no planned play. For example, it is an associative play when two children talk to each other while playing in the sandbox, ask for and exchange the tools necessary for their sandcastle.
6. COOPERATIVE/COLLABORATIVE PLAY (+4 years): It is the stage where the child is interested both in the activity they are involved in and with other participants in the activity. In this stage, the child communicates with others, cooperates and participates in group plays. Their plays have a common purpose, various roles are shared in accordance with this purpose, and the play is carried out jointly.
There is real social communication between children at this stage. One of the most prominent features of cooperative play is that children understand that they are not alone and that they share their toys, roles, and thoughts. In this stage of play which is also called the participatory stage, the activity is organized by the participants, and roles are assigned to everyone. 3 to 4-year old children prefer to play with friends rather than alone. Cooperation and coordination are observed in plays such as house play that they play together. For example, when two children decide to play together in the playhouse, they accept that another child should be a baby. At this stage, children have a common goal, which is to socialize with other children. It is also to achieve a certain result together based on cooperation.
Children can adopt group goals and set rules for the play. This is a play categorized by cooperative efforts between players. Children can adopt group goals and set rules for the play. It is important to remember that collaboration is an advanced skill and can be very difficult for young children. Ironically, cooperative play often involves a lot of conflicts. It is sometimes difficult for young children to share such play scenarios, take turns, and negotiate control, but it is perfectly normal. Besides, there is self-identification within the group, and the emergence of group identity is possible. This condition is relatively uncommon during the preschool and kindergarten years because it requires greater social maturity and more advanced organizational skills.
Ezgi HABİP / Industrial Designer