Most people do not realise that play is more than just fun and games; in fact, it is an integral part of the life cycle of emotional management for children. Through play, children are able to explore their emotions, try on social roles, and develop skills that will enable them to deal with unfortunate life events. So let’s unpack how different kinds of play contribute to emotional development, and how you might support this process as a parent.
The Connection Between Play and Emotional Development
While children play, they are not simply passing time but are honing their emotional skills. For example, through pretend play, children are testing their emotions and situations to later learn how to regulate and manage their own emotions. In this regard, be it building something out of blocks or having imaginative games, play is an area wherein the child feels safe to express his or her feelings and modulation.
How Different Types of Play Assist
Different forms of play help in developing emotional development at different stages in various ways:
- Fantasies/pretend games: Playing with fantasies/pretending and playing is important for children to learn empathy and rehearse seeing events from another person’s perspective. Thus, this play teaches children to make meanings of their feelings and deal with them in their early childhood education.
- Physical play: This will help children expend tension and pent-up energy so they may quiet down and focus more easily. For example: running around, climbing, or playing sports.
- Creative play: Art, building, and other creative activities – provides a non-verbal outlet for children’s feelings, very helpful in cases when putting feelings into words may be an obstacle.
Practical Tips for Parents
Encouraging the right sorts of play will help your child to develop emotional resilience. Here’s one way:
- Offer variety: Provide several types of toys and games to help inspire a range from imaginative play to active ones.
- Join in: Playing with your child sometimes facilitates emotional learning, especially in situations where a child becomes overwhelmed or angry.
Ensure there is an emotionally safe place for your child to learn that feeling upset is okay. Their feelings will get heard through playing, after which you sort out the bad feelings that arise.
Activities to Support Emotional Growth
Following are some simple activities to help your child learn about emotions:
- Emotion Charades: Act out different emotions, letting your child guess what they are. This will help him learn to identify and name emotions.
- Story Time: This is a very fine activity in which reading books is involved since books specifically target and deal with feelings. The various characters in the story are discussed, asking how they feel in that particular case. In turn, ask the child how they would feel in such a case.
- Playdough Faces: Ask your child to make faces, using play dough, showing how they are feeling today. This is an excellent avenue for self-expression and understanding feelings.
Play as Means for Emotional Development
One of the most powerful tools to help children build emotional resilience is through play. Encourage different forms of play, and by becoming an active play partner, you provide your child with opportunities to learn to manage their feelings more successfully. If you are looking for more resources or programs to help your child further in their growth, it could be pre schools like Podar Prep that use the combination of play and learning in a child’s development during early years, thereby creating emotionally fit and wholesome individuals.
