Play is important for a child to grow strong and healthy.  Play helps a child in so many ways because when a child is running, jumping, rolling etc this builds muscles and burns energy.  Making them tired and hungry.  Strength, endurance, balance, body co-ordination improves when children play physical ways.  Physical play helps children sleep and eat better.

Learning is also an outcome of play. A child learns about the meaning of things in the environment around the meaning of things in the environment around them.  It helps the child learn what words mean like stop, go, empty and full by means of a jug if a child is playing with water.  Or they can discover how things feel and what they do.

Play also gives a child the opportunities to learn about people.  They learn how to share and take turns whilst playing. They will consider others, listen and talk to play mates and follow rules.  The child can also pretend to be some one else like a nurse or fire fighter this will help their imagination flourish.

Children enjoy play it helps children learn and grow in a way that helps them feel good bout themselves.

How does play help children grow?

Play helps children grow in many ways such as physically, mentally, socially and emotionally.  All children are unique and they will develop and grow at different paces. E.G. two children of the same age one child maybe able to throw a ball where as the other may not.  There is a general path of development that all children will follow.

Stages of play

Solitary play

This is one of the earliest stages of play.  This is when a child plays on their own without regards for anyone else around them for example if a child is playing with blocks and there are there are other children around the child is completely oblivious to what is going on around them.

Join now!

Parallel play

This is when several children are playing with several same materials but they are not playing together.  Children working on puzzles are usually engaging in parallel play. They usually talk to each other but if one leaves the table the conversation and play is not effected as the others continue to play.

Looking on play

This is when the playing child is observing the children around them.  The child maybe talking to peers.  Observing their peers, they may influence their actions thus resulting in the alteration of their actions and behaviour.  Children engaging in this ...

This is a preview of the whole essay