Growing by Playing – I Played, I Play, I Will Play!

The Importance of Play in the Developmental Perspective and the Stages of Play

“We don’t stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing”

George Bernard Shaw

Play is the most important source of spending time in a child’s life, a means of getting to know the environment and the world in which he lives, and most importantly, it is the field of re-experiencing what he has lived and learned. Thanks to the game, children digest the events they see and hear in their daily lives, learn by playing over and over again and contribute to their development. For this reason, play is an indispensable part of the child’s life. Every child instinctively wants to play and sets up, universally all children are familiar with play and all children “know” how to play, even if they are influenced by their culture and reflected in their play.

In scientific studies, it has been observed that the cognitive and social development of children who play and given the opportunity to play are at a better level (Göncü & Gaskins, 2006). During the game, the child develops waiting for his turn, that is, patience, controlling his anger when things do not go the way he wants, caring about the wishes of the other and empathizing, reading social cues, speaking skills and many more skills that we cannot count. The child reflects the feelings that he cannot express in the game, and places the events that need to be digested in his mind by playing them over and over again in the game.

The content and richness of the game also changes according to the developmental processes of the children. Children both develop with games suitable for their own skills and support their own development by playing.

Game Steps

Games such as stacking the cubes on top of each other, lining up the toys one after the other, hitting the stick on the table all the time, which we can describe as simple games, start when children are almost born. According to Piaget, who examines the development of children in detail, play is a means of experiencing the environment and himself, for example, the baby shouts or cries in order to make sounds and become familiar with his own voice (Piaget, 1962). In the process until the age of 2, games are mostly games based on the repetition of the same action and help the child physically understand his own strength and environmental factors.

“Symbolic play” is the concept also known as pretend play. It is the type of game in which children play by daydreaming, imagining and playing themselves or objects as another entity. For example, using a remote as if it is a mobile phone in the game, sitting the teddy bear on the table as if it is a guest, playing house as if he was a mother and his friend was a father. Symbolic play starts from the age of 2, for example, the child pretends to drive a toy car, drives it back and forth on the ground and makes sounds. (Piaget, 1962). Over time, game contents develop, children begin to build games with their friends and enrich the contents of symbolic games. With the support of cognitive development and the increase in language development, verbal communication, fiction and use of objects in the game are enriched, so the child reflects his daily life practice in the game. Symbolic play is important in the development of the child, because in this way, the child’s observation ability increases and his empathy skills are supported.

The greatest teaching of the game in the life of the child is that it allows the reinforcement of what is learned in daily life and the opportunity to be experienced again. According to Piaget, games with rules that emerge in the cognitive development process contribute to the social and moral development of the child. Even if we see that children play with rules from the age of 6-7, it takes 11-12 years for Piaget to fully understand the rules and to be consciously aware of what they are used for. (Piaget, 1962). For example, more than one child is required in the game of hide and seek, first of all, being together will improve sociability. In order to play hide and seek, it is necessary to agree on the same rules, while the midwife counts up to the determined number, the others hide and the game is played according to the rules, all children agree on these rules. Since breaking the rules, that is, being a gamer, will bring with it exclusion, the child will experience what conflict is, and if he makes an effort to resolve it, he will add to his repertoire what can be done in case of disagreement. In short, games with rules provide the preliminary preparation to exist in social life, to be an individual and to be a part of the order. Social and moral development is actually supported and reinforced by play (Dost-Gözkan & Korkmaz, 2017). This is the last step of the game, and when the child completes this step, it can be said that he has reached a sufficient cognitive capacity.

What Should Be Considered While Playing With The Child?

First of all, the child should be provided with plenty of opportunities to play. It should not be forgotten that the game is both a development and an emotional expression area for the child. As parents, they should observe the children’s play, and if the child wants to involve the parents in the game, they should be included in the game within the conditions. Rather than directing the game, it should allow the child to manage the game, and the game should be accompanied by the child’s age-appropriate developmental stage. If a content that is not suitable for the age of the child is detected in the game, if the emotional reactions of the child are excessive and continuous, an expert should be consulted.

Let’s keep in mind that we can tell what we want to tell children through games. Let’s remember that if we want the child to wait his turn, if we want him to be patient, we can instill this in a board game we play. He will have to wait because he can’t speak before it’s his turn, and he will have to follow the rules because you have made a joint decision. Even if he gets angry at this situation, he will try to keep his anger under control and regulate his behavior, and if he is not successful, he will learn that the game cannot continue. This will be both a moral teaching for a child and his impulse control skills will develop in the game. Also, as a parent, there is definitely a more fun way to sit your child across from you and explain the importance of being patient than seeing his bored face and listening to his objections.

We grow and develop by playing. For this reason, play is the most fundamental right of children. Children were playing games years ago, they are playing today, and they will continue to play in the future. Yes, the game contents may change, but the game will always remain. The game still continues its developmental role with the same seriousness and will continue to do so. With my respect and love to the children playing, to the parents and caregivers who play with them, to those who defend the rights of children to play, and to those who enable them…

Have fun days

Resources;

Dost-Gözkan, A., & Korkmaz, D. (2017). Play and Social-Emotional Development. In Play from the Perspective of Developmental Psychology and Therapy. Istanbul: Özyeğin University Press.

Goncu, A., & Gaskins, S. (2007). Play and development: Evolutionary, sociocultural, and functional perspectives. Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum Press.

Piaget, J. (1962). Play dreams and imitation in childhood. W.W. Norton.