A stuffed animal tea party is more than simple child’s play

Mariam Omran extols the virtues of play activities for a child's development

Children's play is mainly inspired by what they see around them. Jeffery Washington / Getty Images

What’s happening in those little minds? This question might not occur to us when we are surrounded by kids who are doing what they do best: playing.

Play is one of the natural skills that humans are born with. While it seems very ordinary to us, little do we realise how important it is to the cognitive, social, and emotional development of a young child. Many people may go so far as to dismiss the idea that play is, at its essence, a critical learning experience.

What do I mean by play? Psychologist Catherine Garvey describes play as an activity that is valued by the player, self-motivated, freely chosen, and engaging.

Play activities are not limited to certain toys or objects, and children’s play is mainly inspired by what they see around them and what they make out of it. This means that when children play they draw upon past situations and experiences they have had, read about, or seen.

Play provides children the opportunity to develop speech and language skills as they practice speaking and listening. A year and a half ago I was blessed with the arrival of my first nephew, and ever since, my family has been diligently seeking out games and activities to encourage the development of his language skills.

We point at things and call their names out in both Arabic and English. We play “find the letter” games or hop on the tiles of the floor and count from one to ten. We also use certain play strategies to enhance his bi-lingual speaking skills. For example, providing Arabic alphabet blocks and reading the letters out loud to him as he holds a block.

These various play interactions between my nephew and his parents and family have tremendously enhanced the development of his communication skills. This has made it easier for us to know what he wants and enables him to be a better communicator.

One recent situation in which communication skills learnt through play came of use was when he was having trouble breathing normally one night. His mother attended to his cries but was unable to understand what was wrong until he pointed at his neck and said “Mouth kharban”.

Kharban is the Arabic word for not working, so he was trying to tell us that his mouth was not working. That night, he was taken to the hospital and the doctor discovered that he did indeed have a very stuffed air passage that made his breathing difficult. My nephew had learnt to point to and name his body parts through a song that we sing together regularly. As for the word kharban, his parents often use it during play to explain that something is either working or not working.

While play can provide a platform for speech and language development, it can also introduce a child to scientific concepts. A lot happens during playtime, from lifting toys to dropping them, to stacking objects and knocking them down. All the while, children are busy learning. They are developing an understanding of scientific concepts – such as balance and gravity – which can be enriched by adults teaching them new vocabulary to express their play.

When a parent engages in supportive interactive play with their child, the child is learning that his parents are fun to be around and that he is loved, which enhances his social and emotional development. It also contributes to his self-confidence as his parents encourage and reinforce his play in caring ways.

All of this points to a clear and simple fact: play should be taken more seriously. Only when we begin to appreciate play as a critical learning opportunity will we be able to actively enhance a child’s cognitive, social, and emotional development as they play. For example, when you notice your child playing with animal puppets, that may provide an opportunity to teach empathy and compassion; or when your child is holding a car and rolling it, that may be an opportunity to teach the concepts of speed and acceleration.

There are no limits to what play can offer a child and what a child can learn through play. However, it is up to the adults in a child’s life to realise how, and in what ways, we can utilise children’s playtime so that it contributes to and enhances their development.

If jumping on floor tiles and counting out loud enables a child to learn the numbers one to 10 more effectively than having a teacher simply count them out in front of a class, then it’s about time we all started jumping!

Mariam Omran is the manager of research and evaluation at the Salama bint Hamdan Foundation