Importance of Play

The many hours that infants and children spend in play are by no means wasted or merely recuperative in nature.

"Deprived of play the child is a prisoner, shut off from all that makes life real and meaningful. Play is not merely a means of learning the skills of daily living.

The first few weeks of having your newborn baby at home with you will amaze you.

When I was pregnant with my first child, I wanted to do everything right. Besides obsessing over everything I ate and fretting over the homework from childbirth class, I worried about decorating the baby's room.

Play is the way a child learns about the world around him. This article talks about play and development from birth to 2 years old. It explores how children of different ages play and also explains how to choose appropriate play equipment.

This article talks about play and development from the age of 3 to 5. It suggests some appropriate play to help a child develop.

Gender researchers suggest that boys and girls do in fact play quite differently and show clear preferences for different toys from an early age. Boys are seen to be more active in their play while girls' play is more sedentary and focused on verbal interactions.

Both indoor and outdoor play experiences are important for children's development. While recent research has shown a decline in the numbers of children engaging in active outdoor play, outdoor play is critical to your child's healthy development. Outdoor areas are ideal places for children to engage in messy play with sand, water, paint and other art and craft activities. The outside playground offers a much wider variety of natural materials to stimulate the senses. Toddlers and preschoolers will enjoy playing with dirt, leaves, bricks, rocks, bark, water, plants and flowers.

Walk into my house on any given day, and you will find yourself at what I'm beginning to consider the world's longest-running party. My 1, 2, and 5 year-olds will all be busy to the point of distraction, happily playing away with blocks. They're usually not building together, mind you (sometimes they're not even in the same room), but each one will be doing his own thing, concentrating intently, and having a blast.

"I guess I'm kind of silly," the mother of a six-week-old said. "I know she can't understand a word I say, but I can't help talking to her anyway." It's true that very young babies don't understand words, but that doesn't mean it's silly to talk to them.

Play is essential to a child's learning. Parents need to set up their home environment to meet the growing needs in their child's development. During the child's first year, expect a lot of chewing, grasping and dropping. Keep the floors clean and make sure that toxic items are not left within reach.

Imaginative or pretend play, stimulates the senses, creates opportunities for exploration and creative thinking, and helps your child to develop key skills

Many parents today know very well that children's play fosters their physical social, emotional, cognitive and language development. Yet, they do not give their full support. They tend to worry that children are not learning when they are playing. They regard play as mere fun and believe that children only learn the important things when they participate in formal lessons. Some parents' compromise by allowing their children to play only what is deemed 'educational'.

Every parent wants to raise a confident child. One who is independent, who approaches new challenges with enthusiasm and who is proud of his accomplishments. A confident child is a child with high self-esteem, an individual who values and likes himself