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The importance of play in cognitive development

Early childhood is the fastest developmental period in human life, making it an ideal time to encourage children to reach their full potential. Although these develop at their own pace, there is common progress through an identifiable sequence of physical, cognitive, and emotional growth and change .

Play in the child

Children should be encouraged and challenged to think productively, while developing their communication and leadership skills .

Through play, children stimulate their abilities, imagination and healthy brain development This gives them the opportunity to explore, experiment and manipulate qualities that are essential for the construction of knowledge.

Children, through play, develop creativity and cognitive and emotional skills. In addition, learning through play promotes the development of a child’s social, emotional and intellectual skills.

Play helps build self-esteem by giving the child a sense of his own abilities and feeling good about himself.

Game mode

Each child, subject, structures their game according to a modality that is their own, personal . But in this structuring, plasticity, rigidity, stereotypy and perseverance must be taken into account in relation to the implementation of the playful activity.

The rigidity realizes anxieties primitive , a monotonous game uncreative, a non – adaptive mode that can come to show indicators of pathology.

Stereotypy and perseverance speak to us of a more pathological modality of ego resources. It manifests a disconnection with the external world. It is the typical modality that psychotic and brain-injured children present.

The importance of play in the development of the child

In the early years of childhood it is very important to stimulate the child through play, as it is the stage in which children begin to learn a set of physical activities known as motor skills. These skills can be divided into two groups: locomotive skills, and object control skills , manipulating and projecting objects.

Locomotive skills include skills like crawling and walking; Object control skills include skills such as throwing, kicking, catching, and rolling; These skills are the foundation for future movement and physical activity.

You may also be interested in:   Human thought: concept, judgment and reasoning

Development in the game according to age

0-6 months:  Demonstrates reaching and tapping behaviors. Starts looking at objects and smiling in front of a mirror

6-12 months: begins to participate in routine games directed by adults, for example: “is, is not”
Functional play skills emerge, begins to give the toy its own use Some functional games can be: push a car or use a spoon.

12-18 months:  Has purchased and demonstrates functional use of toys. Symbolic play may begin to appear – using an object to represent something else. For example, simulating a pen is a knife or a car is a telephone.

18-24 months: Advances symbolic play. They can discriminate toys, group them with their peers and put together a complex situation game. If they see that the toy is broken, they will try to “repair” it in their own way.

From 2 to 3 years:  From this age, children will begin to demonstrate parallel play, and although at this age, children still do not interact directly, they will begin to exchange ideas and share toys with other peers.

Children at 3 years old will begin to play games of family routines, such as imitating the routine of the father or mother. They also tend to imitate other peers and understand complex games better.

Games to stimulate learning in children

Sand and water games can be an early introduction to science and math, for example learning that water is a liquid, not a solid, and that it can be measured in containers of different sizes.

Art activities , such as playing with dough, drawing, and painting pictures, can promote a child’s creativity and imagination, while giving him new ways to express his feelings and emotions through his drawings or paintings.

Building blocks , puzzles, and shape games can help you recognize different shapes and sizes, practice order, and develop logic.

Games of physical skill, such as playing ball, dancing, running, or climbing, help develop body movements, strength, flexibility, and coordination skills.

Singing and playing musical instruments helps to develop rhythm, expression, coordination, and to listen and listen to themselves.

Games in general help children to get involved with the world around them, they learn to take turns, share and interact with other people.

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Hello Readers, I am Nikki Bella a Psychology student. I have always been concerned about human behavior and the mental processes that lead us to act and think the way we do. My collaboration as an editor in the psychology area of ​​Well Being Pole has allowed me to investigate further and expand my knowledge in the field of mental health; I have also acquired great knowledge about physical health and well-being, two fundamental bases that are directly related and are part of all mental health.

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