Personal Opinion On Creative Play

“Play is a process that is freely chosen, personally directed and intrinsically motivated. Children and young people determine and control the content and intent of their play by following their instincts, ideas and interests in their own way and for their own reasons. The child chooses when and how to play and this is seen as a biological drive, essential to health and well-being.”

The relationship between play and learning seems obvious to many child professionals and parents, and yet there are still lack of understanding surrounding the importance of children's play. Some people believe that children need to "work" not play, and that playing serves no useful purpose in a learning and development environment. This is surprising considering that play, with its high levels of motivation and potential enjoyment empowers children (as well as people

Preference for outdoor play. Child A plays mostly outdoors as he believes it is more fun, and loves to investigate the surroundings. The choice of indoor play is often related to the weather, child A only plays inside when its cold or raining. It is only in severe weather conditions children have to stay in doors as in our setting we believe the children can learn and develop much more outside even when the weather is poor. Play preferences are the child’s own choices & the freedom & opportunities to be able to make those choices by enabling varied resources that are

The benefit to the child is that they can partake in activities with their peers rather than be left out. This ensures the child has maximum opportunities in school and doesn’t have to miss any lessons.

Regardless of how busy things become, it is important for a child to play. The benefits for a child are overwhelmingly positive both physically and mentally. Engage them in structured play as often as unstructured play. Sitting a child in front of the “tv babysitter” may seem convienent but is only hurting your child developmentally. It is important for a child to play whether it is free or unstructured and that they are engaged. Make time for them to play as children being able to play is a primary

If a child has a feeling of control in them and their lives then there confidence and self esteem will be lifted and this will help their behaviour. If a child is given the chance to make their own decisions they will feel important and in charge helping how they act. “Play should empower children, affirm and support their right to make choices, discover their own solutions, to play and develop at their own pace and in their own way.”

It also gives children a sense of belonging and accomplishment. They feel that they are important especially if they are the main role. They feel like without them there will be no play. Sometimes children needs to feel special and there are times that children are from broken families and they do not get that feeling all the

Children develop normally when they are exposed to different types of play that allow them to express themselves while using their imaginations and being physically active. According to the Center for Health Education, Training and Nutrition Awareness, “Play is child’s work”; this is true because it is a child’s job is to learn and develop in their first few years of life, in order for them to do this, they play (CHETNA). Not only is playing a child’s full time job, the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights listed play as a right of every child (Ginsburg). Through their full time job of play, the children develop emotionally, socially, physically, and creatively. Children need to participate in child-led play in order to

This is an important issue due to the parents’ motivation in raising children as well as the enormous care. Parents feel the sense of responsibility towards their children’s better health and development therefore want the best possible care for them. One method of child’s development is unstructured play which allows them to freely play how he or she wants. Play differs in its meaning across time and culture so it does not have a sense of partiality (Cohen, 2006). The allowance of children to play for their improvement is that genuine that it is regarded an ideal for each children in the United Nations High Commission for Human Rights (Ginsburg, 2007). The relationship between unstructured play and the development and wellbeing of a child

According to Ginsburg (2006), he believes that play is a vital part of children’s development and is fundamental for every child. This is because playing in a safe outdoor environment will benefit children in acquiring life skills and improve children in all areas of their development. According to Clements (2004), he states that outdoor play allows children to explore their local neighborhood, learn the rules of everyday life and discover the different textures and elements in the world. When children spend most of their childhood time playing or working in natural settings, they will learn to handle challenges, solve problems and are able to have greater respect for themselves, for others, and for the environment. Looking at children’s perspectives, when the environment is clean and safe, learning can take place comfortably. Children should be given the priority to experience stimulating environment where all their needs are taken

In addition to play promoting pleasure as well as physical activity, play forms the holistic growth in children’s development, or to put it in another way using Brown (2003) acronym, acknowledged as ‘SPICE’; play represents the ‘social interaction’; ‘physical activity’; ‘intellectual stimulation’; creative achievement and emotional stability, (with the addition of “compound flexibility”) in a child’s development. Compound flexibility is the idea that a child’s psychological development occurs using the relationship between his/her environment with the adaptability of the child himself. Thus the flexibility of surroundings and his/her adaptableness can provide children the means to explore; experiment and investigate (Brown, 2003, pp. 53-4). On the contrary, the absence of social interaction and physical activity through the means of play can inhibit children’s overall development and without the consistency of play children suffer a “chronic lack of sensory interaction with the world, [which leads to] a form of sensory deprivation” (Hughes, 2001, p.217 in Lester and Maudsley 2006).

Open ended play is where children are not given any goals to achieve and they are not given any set of rules to follow. In this kind of play children are given a number of resources that are open ended which means the children can use the given resources in a number of ways based on their imaginations and creativity.

Children playing creatively has just as many benefits as orgainized activites. Creatively playing allows children to develope a imagination and create new ways that a single object or toy can be used. A child may use a cooking pot as a hat or helmet. Children also are able to simulate real life experiences through creative play such as playing cops and robbers or as most would consider playing tag. Creative play allows children to have fun without worries or any goals that need to be met. However, orgainized activities allow children to learn to work as team, set goals and accomplish those goals. Orgainized activities also can develope childrens sense of commitment by learning how to be on time and to never give up. With the many benefits

To add to this, it can be an advantage for children to play away from adult supervision, for example playing outdoors without the adult over the child’s shoulders constantly disrupting their play. Through this, a child can obtain independent mobility, in which they can explore the environment on their terms and create own identities (Armitage, 2004). This could be an implication for early years practitioners, as part of their job role in early years is to supervise all the children within the class, therefore adult supervision is needed within the early years when children are playing outdoors.

In todays society, it seems so much emphasis is put on the importance of organized activities. There was a time when an "organized activity" was meeting your friends in the park for a little game of baseball, or something of that nature. How different it is today!