Children's play (original) (raw)

2001, Child: Care, Health and Development

This paper draws upon research from a number of disciplines to examine the significance of children's play. It concludes that play may well be central to normal personality development. However, its place in contemporary Western society is not secure, perhaps risking the development and well-being of urban and disadvantaged children in particular. The symbolic play of preschool children has been described as 'the progressive internalization of actions. .. heretofore. .. performed on the sensorimotor plane', and is said to be a form of learning about the external world through a process of assimilation (Piaget ). Similar mechanisms may also assist other aspects of development. For instance, Sroufe () has argued that fantasy play allows the child to '.. . express vital feelings in a controlled context and by repeating experiences in varied symbolic ways, work through conflict and painful feelings. .. .'. As a consequence, '.. . a sense of mastery is gained through repetition'. Play is therefore 'a major tool for emotional regulation'. Indeed, this regulatory function may be evident in even very young infants who, through playful social behaviour, influence the relationship between parent and child and so their own emotional state (Trevarthen & Aitken ). It is likely that, at least in part, the therapeutic effect of play therapy derives from these learning and self-regulatory functions of play (Ablon ). In Piaget's view, the form and content of play and the developmental sequence in which play unfolds are universal (Piaget ). Nevertheless, play may vary somewhat according to temperament (Thomas, Chess & Birch ), parenting practices, gender or culture (Bornstein et al. ). However, recent