Children 's Development As An Integral Part Of A Child Development

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Play is important in a child’s development as it helps in the child’s cognitive, emotional, physical and social development. It is through play that the child is able to interact and engage with the world around them and discover new things such as the objects they fiddle with and the lessons that they will soon learn from interacting with toys and people. Under article 31 (leisure, play and culture) of the United Nations Convention of the Rights of the Child, play has been recognized as being an integral part of a child’s development, to which “children have the right to relax and play, and to join in a wide range of cultural, artistic and other recreational activities”.

Play can help in a child’s cognitive development, especially in…show more content…
(Black book) Children who participate in pretend play also tend to grasp verbal skills better later on in life. (http://www.seattlepi.com/lifestyle/article/Researchers-take-on-imaginary-playmates-for-1161361.php) Children also learn and mimic adult roles that they have observed in their everyday lives such as how their mothers pour tea into teacups for guests or older family members and copies this action when they line their stuffed toys around them and taking on the motherly role, pouring “tea” out of teapots for the stuffed toys. Here we see children taking on realistic adult roles that they have observed which may help them better understand what one of the many motherly roles might be, and by understanding, they build a new schema in their brain in relation to what a mother is and in the process, learn something new.

Play can help develop a child’s emotional aspect with the use of transitional objects. Transitional objects such as a child’s teddy bear or doll can act as the child’s first stepping stone into reality, which might be too complicated for the child to handle all by himself. Emotionally difficult situations to a child such as not receiving enough love or craving for more love from adult figures but yet, unable to gain it, may turn to his teddy bear for comfort and a sense of belonging. In this case, playing with the teddy bear can downplay the feeling of hurt and help in
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