Play with your Children

Many parents work full time and don’t get enough time to play or talk with their children. By the time they come home from work, have dinner, and clean up, it’s the child’s bedtime. It is important to read to your child every night, but play is where children really develop themselves for the future.

But parents still have the opportunity when the weekend comes around to spend quality time with their children. Whenever possible, find the time to play with your children. Not only does it benefit their development, but parents benefit as well. When the weather is bad, have fun at home. When I play with my son, my energy bursts, my endorphins are sky high. Imaginary play is great. I pretend that my legs are an airplane, and I rock my 2 yr. old son forwards and backwards. I get a physical workout, and the baby has the ride of his life!

Other times we play with educational toys, dance and sing to his favorite songs. By playing with different things, I as a parent discovered that my son loves music, and he loves to dance. When he is able to do the things he loves, his learning and development are that much healthier!

Outdoor Play

Weather permitting; the best play is outdoors for physical activity and learning about their external environment and how to interact with other children. When we go to the park, I climb the play gym with him, and we go down the slide together. I hide in little areas and he finds me. He is so proud of himself when he finds me that he does a little dance, and jumps up with glee!

Just running around with other children is a positive experience. The other day, a little boy said hello to my son, and he was a bit shy, but when I told him to say hi, he raised his little hand and said hi. It was a very good social learning experience for him, and I was very proud of him. I gave him a big kiss and praised him. That is crucial because he knows that he is doing something right by being polite and playing with other children. Everything he does is a learning experience, and I love watching him and teaching him how to be unafraid to experience new tasks and behaviors.

Why is play important?

Much of a child’s learning happens in the first six years of their life. Play is fundamental for a child’s learning and development.

Thru play, children: