Why Learning Through Play is an Important Aspect of Childhood

by Eleanor Barber

Play is a major part of childhood, every child plays. Play is an important part of our development and learning. It helps set milestones for children to achieve. Many children go to organised activities, like playgroups and nurseries, or do more physical organised activities like dance and swimming. These not only introduce formal play but prepare children for more formal school life.

Children are able to learn through experiencing the world around them as well as watching those around them. It is intrinsic to a child’s development and will affect them well into adulthood, due to the way the brain can change during the early years of life. When deprived of play children will suffer in the present as well as in the long term.

Play increases brain development and growth, as creates new neural connections and improves the ability to perceive other peoples emotional state. Play theorist Brian Sutton-Smith believes that children are born with huge neuronal over-capacity, which if not used will die. This could suggest that learning during early childhood is essential to allow further learning into the adult life. He suggests that play is teaching children how to relate to others, how to uses their muscles and how to think in abstract terms, amongst many other things. While play does not teach specific information, it teaches children how to solve future problems. of. lack of play that is were the real problem lies.

While there are many advantages to play, it is the disadvantages of lack of play that the real problem lies. This is because that without play has few opportunities to explore their surroundings, so will fail to make links between neutrons, making learning in the future harder for children without play than children with play.

Play also has physical benefits for children as they are more likely to stay healthy as many are introduced to play in the form of physical activities, which give children essential fine and gross motor skills. This allows children to utilise these skills later on in life allowing them to use these skills to give them access to a greater range of sports and other physical activities that they can use. Play also decreases stress, fatigue, injury and depression as well as increasing the efficiency of immune, endocrine and cardiovascular systems.

Play has social benefits as it increases empathy, compassion and sharing. This gives children many adavantages in adulthood, where compromising is necessary to continue well formed relationships with others. It also models relationships based on inclusion rather than exclusion, which teaches children that to maintain relationships  they must include others. Play also increases attention and attachment giving children an advantage during formal school in later childhood.

In conclusion, play is an important factor in the development of children in many different aspects all of which have various impacts of adulthood in varying degrees.