The Importance Of Unstructured Play In Pediatric Units

The practitioner in an early years setting supporting children’s play learning and development is extremely important, as play helps stimulate the child’s brain, supports their needs on an educational level, as well as helping them with social difficulties such as building relationships, developing them and helping them gain confidence. Many people believe that a child learns best when they are motivated, such as Fredrich Froebel. He believed that children benefitted from all types of play. The McMillan sisters believed that outdoor play was extra important as they studied children who played and slept outside and discovered that they were the happier and healthier children in comparison to those who only played inside.

This school is a licensed childcare program and NAEYC accelerated. The center is providing child care program for children age from 2.9 to 5 years old. There is 2 preschool classroom, I did my observation in preschool classroom room no: 1 on 10/2/2017 time from 9am to 10am. There are around 13 children in the classroom. All the children’s engaged several activities like

Play is the universal language of children and allows children to express their emotions and individual responses to stressful situations. Play allows children to recreate crucial events that they have experienced and provides the child with a sense of control over the outcome of their play. The presence of a non-directive adult observer during play provides a companion for the child to recall difficult experiences and memories. Medical play is a way for children to work through the process of stressful medical experiences, where children cope with stressful healthcare experiences and can achieve mastery by creating positive outcomes in play. It is vital to understand coping strategies of children, since these approaches may affect their future reactions to healthcare situations. Children who have a sibling with a chronic illness can experience vicarious medical distress and their lives can be impacted by their siblings’ chronic illness. The researchers’ aim of this study was to observe and compare the reactions to medical trauma through play of children with medical illnesses, siblings of children with medical illness, and children who were healthy and did not have family members who were ill.

play therapy experiences for children to help reduce anxiety and fear. Additionally, they can help

This assignment is all about play and learning for children and young people. Play is engaging in an activity for enjoyment and pleasure however can also be used for learning purposes and development in children and young people. Play activities can be planned by practitioners within the setting or can be free-play, when a child goes off and plays by themselves. Play can be carried out individually or in groups and can also be carried out in different environments such as indoors and outdoors. ‘Research confirms the importance of play for infants in developing children’s brains and minds.’ (http://playtherapy.org.uk/ChildrensEmotionalWellBeing/AboutPlayTherapy/MainPrinciples/PlayDefinition) this is why practitioners encourage young children

This essay will outline the theoretical rationale for play in the development of young children. Boushel, Fawcett and Selwyn (2000:57) state, ‘Play is not easily defined...’ Play means different things to different people. Rubin, Fein and Vandenberg (1983) {cited in Hughes, 2010} suggest play should be intrinsically motivated, freely chosen, pleasurable, non literal and actively engaging. Play gives children freedom of choice, it allows them to lead their own learning, follow their own learning intentions and express themselves freely. There are many reasons that lead us to believe play is crucial for child

Often, elementary school counselors are reluctant to suggest play therapy and have perceived barriers to its efficacy. This study surveyed 259 members of the American School Counselor Association about those barriers to implementing play therapy, and the potential solutions that could be used to overcome any reluctance. The typical barriers are logical: training, administration, time, resources, and space. It is not that the counselors as a whole do not believe in play therapy, it is that they cannot always find appropriate resources to implement the tool. The study raises the awareness that in the contemporary school in which budgets and resources are extremely tight, more training, educating faculty and administrators, and even using alternative or personal funds to purchase play therapy materials are often necessary to help students.

It has been documented that children undergoing surgery and their families experience high levels of distress and perioperative anxiety. Stress and perioperative anxiety have the potential to cause more harm on post-surgical healing, in consideration of both physical and mental health, if not addressed promptly and properly. Child Life Specialists are pediatric healthcare professionals who are able to provide interventions to help reduce anxiety and increase developmental growth within pediatric patients, provide family centered care, and facilitating therapeutic play interventions for pediatric patients, all the while in the hospital environment (Child Life Council, 2014). Child life specialists are able to meet these values and missions to create a standard of practice that the American Pediatric Association recommends in all pediatric healthcare settings (Child Life Council, 2014). Typically, when child life specialists are working with pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures they are able to participate as a part of the multidisciplinary health team to provide family centered care and increase a patient and their families understanding on the medical procedure at hand. A common intervention for pediatric patients undergoing anesthesia for surgical procedures include medical play and medical preparation sessions.

Play contributes to children’s “physical, emotional and social well-being” (Else, 2009, p.8) and through play, the child’s holistic development and well-being is being constantly accounted for as is it led by the individual. The child decides what s/he wants to do and does it; it is

Play is a way for children to learn about their environment and how interaction occurs within. It is through trial and error that children are able to create options; follow their own interests and show “independence in thought and actions” using their knowledge and understanding (Moyles, 2005, p.3). Children develop resilience though play. However for a number of children can experience stressful occurrences during their lives and play can often be restricted. Therefore the play worker’s role in supporting children’s play is a crucial measure towards children's development. For those that work with children require the dexterity to prompt and contribute to children’s play, which can be seen as a principle aspect of therapeutic alliance.

There have been various nonpharmacological strategies proposed to relieve pain in hospitalized children, and a central element of several of these strategies is play. The empirical research of play in the healthcare setting has not received much attention, however these authors believed that children during the postsurgical period would manifest less pain if they were refocused with play. This study aimed to determine the effect of a hospital program to promote play on postsurgical pain in pediatric patients. The authors believed that children distracted by play during the postsurgical period would manifest less pain than those who were not distracted by play during the postsurgical period. 95 patients (ages 1-7 years) who met predetermined criteria were eligible and participated in the study. The study contained both an experimental group and a control group and participants were randomly

For children and adolescents, the experience in pediatric emergency waiting rooms can be problematic. According to different age groups, there are a variety of psychosocial concerns and developmental considerations that health professionals should be aware of in the pediatric unit. The environment of the emergency room is busy and chaotic, which can increase the level of anxiety and stress for the whole family. For infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children, parent separation is a common factor that makes them anxious (Brunnquell & Kohen, 1991). In the chaotic environment, children express their anxiety by crying, kicking or even regressive behaviors such as stop walking. Thus, there should be more family couches for patients to

Play is considered as an important tool for emotional development as children recognise themselves more clearly and they are encouraged to fully realize their potential (Oliver & Klugman, 2002). Piaget explains that during pre-operational stage children develop their ability to distinguish between the real and mental world by using an object as a symbol for something else rather than the object itself and Vygotsky also agreed to this concept (Dockett & Fleer, 2002). Play enables them to share their play with their peers and listen to others point of views which develop their empathy (Smidt, 2011). Play positively affects the emotional well- being of the child when they show their enjoyment through laughter, smiles. They get motivated to play when they are the active participants in the play and achieve mastery in known fields being acknowledged by the adults. It gives them internal excitement which nurtures their desire to learn.

Medical play is a technique used by child life specialists to decrease fear and help children’s dealing with hospitalizations and procedures. In medical play, children are given the chance to play and explore common medical supplies; such as stethoscope, thermometers, medical dolls, and photographs that they may encounter in medical procedures. Preparation can help children experience less anxious about surgery and get through the recovery period faster. For example, Mahajan, Wyllie, Steffen, Kay, Kitaoka, Dettorre, and McGue (1998) found that children who were prepared for an endoscopy with the use of a photographs and doll were “less anxious, more cooperative, and needed less sedation during the procedure” (Goldberger, Luebering, Mohl and

Along with the many types of play, there are also a few functions of play. One of the functions of play is the ability to master anxieties and conflicts. Playing can relieve tension because of the relaxed setting and atmosphere. This also helps with coping with problems. Building with blocks and knocking them down is a great example of how play can relieve tension. This is fun and it lets the child show emotion. Another function of play is that it can work off excess energy. This is especially useful and important with children with ADHD. They have symptoms of hyperactivity and inability to concentrate, so play can help improve these issues by getting energy out and relieving any anxieties or tensions. Any kind of play can help children work off frustration and cope with their feelings. This is a form of play therapy. It is a simple way of kicking back and relaxing; doing something you enjoy. This can mean so many things such as coloring or playing with play doh.