Types of play
Children learn and develop through different types of play.
Physical play: Physical play can include dancing or ball games. This helps the child
build their muscles, bones and physical skills. Parents should encourage their child to
move as much as possible.
Social play: By playing with others, children learn how to take turns, cooperate and
share. This also helps them to develop their language skills. Social play can be
encourage by taking the child to playgrounds. Parents and toddler groups can also help
them meet other children.
Constructive play: Constructive play is where children experiment with drawing, music
and building things. This helps them to develop their movement skills and become less
clumsy. Constructive play also helps children to understand distance and size.It can be
done by Encouraging them to do arts and crafts and play with building blocks. Letting
the child working on problems out for themselves during constructive play is very
important. It is much better than trying to show them the 'right way' to do something.
Fantasy play: Using their imagination during play is good for your child’s
communication skills. It is good for them to create their own games. Fantasy play can
encourage the child to develop their own imagination by giving them props. These
could be things such as a whisk and bowl if they are pretending to be a baker. Dress up
costumes also encourage fantasy play.
Games with rules: Games with rules can teach children about fairness.Children can
play simple games like 'Simon says' or 'Duck Duck Goose' with younger children.
Board games are also a good way of teaching children about rules, as well as being a
fun family activity.
Characteristics of Play 1
o Intrinsically motivated The second, and most preferred motivation is
Intrinsic motivation. Intrinsic motivation is when a person engages in
a behaviour because they find it rewarding. They are performing an activity
for its own sake rather than from the desire for some external reward. The
behaviour is the reward.
o Voluntary or self-chosen - Play is a self-chosen activity; simply put, children
cannot be forced to play. In play children are free to chose what they want to
do, and can change the direction of play at any time. The control of the play is
with the child
o Adventurous or risky- Play provides an opportunity for children to
challenge their capabilities, face fear and try new things. Play and the often
‘pretend element’ offers a safety net for children to explore their fears in a
light hearted way, with an awareness that play is separate from ordinary life.
o Voluntary or self-chosen Play is a self-chosen activity; simply put, children
cannot be forced to play. In play children are free to chose what they want to
do, and can change the direction of play at any time. The control of the play is
with the child
o Meaningful Play is relevant and makes sense to the child (not the observer).
Through play children can make meaning of the world around them; they can
re-enact what they have heard, seen or experienced in their everyday life.
o Pleasurable: If you ask a child what play is, they are sure to tell you, it’s fun!
Play should be an enjoyable and pleasurable activity for children. Although
sometimes it does present tensions, frustration, or challenges, it overall will
lead to enjoyment that is self-directed.
o Active: Play is considered the highest form of physical activity for children.
In other words, if you want children moving and want to focus on physical
health then get them to play. During Active play children use their bodies and
brains to interact with play.
o Symbolic play Have you ever witnessed a child use a block as a telephone?
This is symbolic play. Through symbolic play children use objects, actions,
and ideas to represent real world actions. This might look like ‘pretend play’
to most, but it is a powerful way for children to safely test out their ideas and
leads to complex cognitive functions.
o Process orientated As educators we can appreciate that the end result of play
rarely matters, it’s the learning in the steps, sequence and process that matters.
Through play children can problem-solve, develop, and deal with conflict,
and get a sense of achievement as they express themselves through play.
o Play is imaginative- Imaginative play is playing pretend. It is important for
young children, as it not only builds character, but also helps adults
understand children’s perspective and how they view and take in the world
around them.Through imaginative play children learn critical thinking skills,
how to follow simple directions, build expressive and receptive language,
increase social skills and learn how manage their emotions.
Intrinsic motivation: One characteristic of interest in relation to children's play is
intrinsic motivation, or a self-directed interest in the activity at hand. Intrinsic
motivation may be observable in a self-initiated activity (such as playing at being
Wonder Woman, for example), or it may result from an activity initiated by the
teacher (such as a lotto game or block construction project). Intrinsically motivating
activities are also likely to permit the child to resolve discrepancies between the novel
and the familiar (Berlyne, 1960; Bruner, 1972). For instance, pretense play with baby
dolls following the birth of a sibling may help a preschooler understand his or het
feelings about this event.
Attention to means rather than ends: In addition to being motivated intrinsically, a
child engaged in play is less concerned with a particular goal than with the means of
achieving it. What "goals" do exist within play are self-imposed, and may thus change
as the activity proceeds. Trying out patterns of familiar thought and action within the
play situation appears to help develop the child's ability to think and solve problems
(Smith & Dutton, 1979, Vandenberg, 1980). Curricula that focus only on goal-specific
activities may diminish the sense of exhilaration and discovery that frequently
accompanies children's play. For example, when engaged in play involving the
preparation of dinner, one kindergartener took time to "iron" a plastic vegetable with a
toy iron, then returned to the original task of preparing the meal.
Nonliteral behaviour: Non literal behaviour involves the exercise of "make-believe."
According to researchers, the conception of objects and situations within the "as if"
frame of reference is thought to contribute to the child's later skill in hypothetical
reasoning and understanding of abstract symbols (Fagen, 1976, Fein, 1981) and
logical transformations (Saltz, Dixon, & Johnson, 1977). One preschooler, for
example, made "cream of mosquito" soup, pretending that small sandbox pebbles were
the mosquitoes.
4. Freedom from external rules. Often cited as a characteristic to differentiate
children's play, from their behaviour within rule-based games, this feature presents
something of a paradox. Although external rules do not exist for play, play behaviour
within imaginative contexts does possess implicit rules. For example, the behaviours
of two children playing, respectively, the roles of veterinarian and wounded dog
express a clear understanding of the expectations for the doctor/patient relationship.
Within the play context, children may also generate and adapt intrinsic rules through
negotiation (Garvey, 1977; Schwartzman, 1978). Following such rules may prepare
the child to later engage in games with collective rules, or even provide a sense of the
rules of society at large (Mead, 1934).
5. Self rather than object. In play, activity is "selfreferenced"; in other words, the
child relates to a familiar object in an open-ended manner and is free to manipulate
that object in any way he or she wishes. Novel materials are likely to be met by the
child with an exploration strategy. When exploring, the ,properties of the unfamiliar
object are uppermost in the child's attention, as opposed to his or her own responses to
that object. Some evidence suggests that play with an object before it has been fully
explored may limit the child's discovery of its specific properties (Hutt, 1979). For
example, teachers in one day care center noted that children never used certain hand
puppets except in the way initially demonstrated by the teachers. Encouraging a
balance of exploration and play, or the novel and the familiar, may be an important
planning issue for those implementing programs for young children.
6. Active engagement. The zest that preschool children bring to play is evident in
their overt actions and verbalizations, as-well as in their unwillingness to be distracted
from play activities. As children grow older, their interest may be intenorized,
becoming less readily discernible to the adult observer. Nonetheless, the question of
how actively young children are participating in play is an important one for the
classroom teacher or caregiver, who must frequently assess whether the class as a
whole is involved during the times scheduled for play activities.
