Why Children Play

This may seem like a silly question to some people, but some people may actually wonder why children do play. It is their way of keeping occupied and it also helps them learn about the world around them.

Playing can also help a child advance his or her cognitive abilities, and it can help with remembering important and trivial facts. It also can help children bond with their parents and it can teach children how to interact socially.

There are a number of reasons that children play, and there are a number of reasons that parents encourage children to play. Just take a look at the statistics below (based on a certain small group of parents studied):

About 32% of parents think that playing is useful for helping a child prepare for life difficulties while 53% of them think it will help them one day obtain a good-paying job.

About 22% of parents who allow their children to play think that it helps them make their own decisions. In other words, playing can help a child think for him or herself.

Over half of parents (about 61%) say that if a child plays it helps that child become more independent. In other words, that child will not always depend on others to entertain him or her.

Types of Play

There are essentially two types of play. One is considered more “fun” play such as that of playing with dolls or driving cars around the room.

There is differing of opinions as to whether or not that first type of play can really help a child develop. It helps them become acquainted with real life concepts but it does not necessarily prepare children intellectually.

Therefore, a parent may encourage a child to play what they would consider more educational games. Maybe they will recite answers to questions presented from using flash cards or they might play some kind of math, logic, or memory game.

However, one must not forget another very important aspect of the role-playing kinds of games. The driving the car around the room or setting up play dolls to interact with one another is this action on a smaller scale.

On a larger scale, children may play house and thus learn the difference between various family roles. For instance, two sisters or two female friends who have enough of an age difference may play mother and daughter. A boy and a girl might play husband and wife (hopefully within reason for the age).

Another kind of play that can be fun for the child is games such as hide and seek. This is one in which a child uses all his or her senses to explore the world. In this game the child often fulfills the role of sleuth or detective in a hide and seeks pursuits.