What is there to observe when a child plays?

Play has been identified as a vital component for the normal cognitive development of children. It is considered necessary to achieve normal physical, social and cognitive development.

Through play, the child can unleash his imagination, manipulate perceived information and put his mind to work in an extraordinary way.

The game allows children to  create, undo and give the value that they create to characters or objects within their game world; This may depend on your state of mind or the relationship it has with the object or character created. It is also a very useful tool that allows you to practice conflict resolution.

Form of play according to age

According to Piaget and his theory of cognitive development, children go through different stages of play depending on their age.

3-36 months: Solitaire play

A child up to three years of age will  present a spontaneous , self-centered game that tends more than anything to investigate the object; the sense of reality at this stage is more subjective, therefore it will represent in playing what it wants .

A babies usually like to play them on your own. Explore all aspects of their environment and get to know the world around them – a completely new world full of surprises. Until 18 months the baby continues to be amazed by the sound of his own voice, they observe everything with great curiosity, they like to throw things, suck and sound any object that comes their way.

From 18 months to 36 months the baby has already developed other facets that allow him to communicate and be part of his environment. At this stage they like to build, draw, paint, invent characters, play to imitate the tasks that mom or dad does.

From 4 to 7 years: Parallel play

From four to seven years of age there is a greater approximation to reality , due to the socialization process which allows us to see the other as someone else. And from the age of seven to eleven we will have to observe the appearance or not of the regulated game .

At this stage children can already communicate clearly and socialize with others. It is a stage of interaction where you want to play with other children. They can participate in similar activities or totally different activities, but they like to be with other people of the same age.

Interactive play begins, where they can share ideas and toys. Through this mode of play, children begin to develop social skills such as sharing, collaborating, knowing rules, and taking turns.

From 7 years old: Cooperative stage

This stage consists of carrying out organized activities that are characterized by social roles.

After the age of 7, children are more interested in interactive games, generally with children of the same age, older people, or adults. They may put their dolls aside and begin to play with objects in their environment, for example: playing at housework.

At this age, some children already prefer to watch TV or play video games instead of going outside to play. As parents we must prevent this from happening, since the child is still in the full development stage and play is an essential factor that helps stimulate the child’s good cognitive development .

Psychodiagnostic process in children

If we are facing a psychodiagnostic process we will have as a tool when playing the game box , but as parents you can also observe certain elements when your children are ready to play.

First you have to observe how the child approaches the box or toys in general . Said observation, both in the case of the psychologist and the parents themselves, must be approximate but at a distance , that is, without active participation , trying to distance themselves from the child’s internal world and asking ourselves, in turn, if to start the function playful the child:

• He hopes that the interviewer or the parents will motivate him , which would give account of a dependency trait .
• Approaches slowly, taking distance from toys, avoiding play .
• He takes the toys hesitantly but leaves them unsure of what to do .
• T oma the materials abruptly , realizing a chaotic or impulsive action.
• The game has a beginning, a middle and an end , that is, a temporal logic, a coherent unit for its age .
• It generates a prior approach by representing in your mind what is there, which would allow you to structure the field beforehand and then develop an activity .

Another of the basic elements to analyze when a child plays is whether the child has a preference for solitary play. While solitary play is necessary for self-knowledge and cognitive stimulation; the child from the age of 4 will feel the need to share his game and interact with other people. If this does not happen and the child always plays alone, we may be facing a developmental problem.