We want our children to learn new things all the time, we want to give them the appropriate tools to conquer the world. That goal is natural, there is nothing wrong in having those concerns when it comes to our little kids, the problem arises when we want them to acquire those tools really fast, when we expect them to learn as adults. We, sometimes, forget that children can’t learn the same way we do, we shouldn’t expect them to sit down and work without distractions or noise.

Life is so hectic that we feel we don’t have time to do anything, we have learned to live fast, to not enjoy anything, we want to digest everything without chewing anything. Our world has made us that way and we want our kids exactly the same way, we don’t want to explain everything more than once, we expect them to understand the instructions accurately and do the activities and finish them the same way and in the same time an adult, or at least a much older kid, would.

It is very common to see parents finishing the games or puzzles for them, guiding their hands so they would put the pieces correctly the first time they do it. Respect his pace but challenge him to do new things, don’t do them for him.

Play is nothing else but the joyful action with patterns full of information that is passed along through imitation of nature or others. That’s why fun plays a major role in the learning process, one that we sometimes don’t appreciate to it’s full extent. The play it’s charged with cognitive elements that makes children learn from it, especially before language. Through imitation they learn how to act in this world and many other imaginary ones that have it’s own rules and laws.

Play is something that comes naturally to toddlers, but is also a way to ensure that recently learned things stay with him. Games take advantage of the curiosity and fun keeps them doing the activity longer which ensures the creation of a pattern.

The toddler runs and jumps and tries to do everything he sees we are doing and through that, he exercises his muscles, he improves his coordination and gets better at it every time. He tries to talk, to imitate the sounds he hears and sometimes he laughs at the sounds he produces. The adults also laugh which creates a pleasant sensation of belonging that bonds the child into his community and makes sure he keeps trying because he feels accepted which also creates a pattern of practice and, in that sense, development. He explores and discovers everything around him in a playful manner, he sees how things move and what moves them, he then tries to recreate the movement which will lead to fantasy play and to mentally put everything in it’s place and deal with imaginary situations that otherwise he will not encounter improving creativity, imagination and intelligence.

All of this is happening inside a community that continuously feedback him with more patterns. A community that plays with him introducing the concept and practice of social play that will teach him how to cooperate and follow rules in order to survive within that community.

Play is capital to develop the skills necessary to survive in our world, it allows the toddler to get to know the world and makes him fit for it. Different kinds of play makes for different kinds of skills in training for the toddler. If we really want to give him the right tools to survive in this world, we should encourage play, and allow him to try for himself what he sees, to become one of us helping him by offering new patterns to observe and repeat, and reinforce these and old ones through play, through fun.

You may also find interesting:

  1. Sharing as a Social Skill for Preschoolers
  2. Entertainment for Toddlers, How Do They Have Fun
  3. Help your child to make friends
  4. Cliques in Preschool, The Sad Reality
  5. When And How Should You Read To Your Child

Filed under: Playing & Fun

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