Children's Development through Play
Children should always be treated with uttermost care and attention. Parents and schools ought to put down structures and systems which support children to engage in physical activity. Through participation in body exercises, both at home and school will not only make children healthier but also brighter in class. An adage says, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy". The saying is an outright truth since children play a critical role in the development and general well-being of children. Children are an integral part of any society, family, and nation (Lillard et al., 2012). The players both in government and corporate world must put more emphasis on nurturing children into holistic and all-rounded growth, recognizing that they are the future of any nation.
The Benefits of Play
Moreover, it is essential to recognize the benefits of playing. The practice of performing should be introduced earlier for preschoolers for it has overwhelmingly high advantages in setting the pace for the youngsters. For instance, playing has lots of health benefits. It is quite evident that a physically active toddler will grow into an equally active adult in society. The sense of physical activity makes one be physically fit. Physical fitness makes human being to be in better conditions hence making them less prone to sedentary ailments and conditions that make people suffer. Some sedentary diseases are life-threatening and give people challenges dealing and surviving with them (Lillard et al., 2012). Lifestyle adds to the average well-being of the individual. Therefore, it is vital for parents and teachers to engage children in adventurous activity in the form of play to teach them the culture of sport and physical fitness.
Teaching Resilience through Play
That aside, another significant benefit of children's play is to teach resilience. Playing teaches youngsters to be resilient in life. Whenever things don't work well at times, which happens in life anyway, a cushion to absorb the shock of frustrated expectations is necessary. Life is full of heartaches and heartbreaks. Whenever the unexpected happens in life, it behooves a healthy person to accept and move on. Conforming to reality will lead to a quick healing process that will help someone to bounce back stronger such as never been before (Lester and Russell 2014). Resilience is an attribute that the young heroes in the making should learn earlier in life. Children lacking this trait will always wallow in self-pity, blame others for the disappointment and lose the heroes DNA in them.
Encouraging Cooperation and Teamwork
Moreover, playing encourages cooperation hence teamwork is learned earlier in life. Children who engage in physical activity be it at home or school will understand that collaboration is necessary. Children, when playing will learn to cooperate with team members to give their best to enable the team, be victorious. Here children are humbled and made to trust other members of the group through giving them a chance to spice up the game and above all win. For instance, children playing football will be meant to understand that they cannot single-handedly dribble the ball from their goal post, pass through their defense and midfield, go to the opponent's side of the field dribble all their players and score. The scenario is not possible even for football geniuses of all time. For better players, they need other quality players in the team to make it competitive enough to challenge other teams.
The Competing Mentality
On the other hand, youngsters should be taught to play earlier in life for it gives the competing mentality. Medical research has unmatched evidence that active youngsters outside the classroom are used in the school too. Competition is a vital skill that is necessary for survival in the world. As youngsters will grow into adults, they will realize that competition is real it in the industry they choose to venture into or any other aspect of social and economic development (Lester and Russell 2014). Children who are used to match we ever challenged to add value to their skills to get them better trained for the future completions. Life is always a contest and the well-trained and focused survive. Life is a competition that needs the adventurous seeking newer experiences to thrive.
Developing Empathy
Besides that, playing makes youngsters show others empathy. Empathetic human beings are few in our world today; this is usually as a result of little effort to engage children in sport. The sport deprived children mature into adults who care less about others. The don't care attitude is as a result of inadequate training and trickles down to caress parenting. Children ought to learn to be sensitive to the feelings and emotions of other people. The little gems should be given an opportunity to perceive things from viewpoints of others. This skill will later on in life help youngsters, who will then be adults to be better placed make workable and life-long connections to other people (Lester and Russell 2014). Empathy is a significant ingredient in creating relationships it at work or in the divine institution of marriage. Therefore, compassion makes people choose wisely their words to avoid hurting others. It also makes people lead the path of their generation through being good peer counselor who gives people hope.
Encouraging Risk-Taking
Playing makes children ready to take risks. Playing is adventurous, and it is, the perfect opportunity for children to take risks whereas understanding their limits. Life is a challenge full of many dangers. It is through sheer bravado of taking a series of threats that people overcome problems and make a breakthrough in whichever pathway they choose in life. Risk-taking is a skill that children ought to acquire at a tender age to enable them to seize opportunities and succeed where others see nothing but failure (Lester and Russell 2014). The art of risk-taking is necessary as it creates the new from the unseen, this is a great attribute that the modern corporate world needs. Taking adventure is a risky affair, but before taking the risk, it necessitates knowing the limits. Children should be taught about making the threat from their heydays as it will help them in the future policy and strategy implementation.
Taking Initiatives
Additionally, another role of children's play is to enable them to learn to take initiatives. Taking initiatives is a prerequisite for success. Children taking action early enough will make them able to make decisions that matter. It is crystal clear that playing makes children aggressive hence swifter in making decisions that not only influence the path of their life but also of those around them. Taking the initiative can be through choosing a sport that they are passionate about, a career or an activity that makes them happy. An initiative is self-fulfilling when seized, and it makes someone be in full control of their life (Lillard et al., 2012). Being aggressive is a skill that makes people stand out from the rest hence it gives one a cutting edge over others. Taking initiative also involves making a choice to delve into something with courage and positive energy focused on the activity.
Developing Personalities
Besides that, playing children are more likely to develop their personalities at the earliest stage of life. The claim can be verified because when children play their self-esteem is boosted making them believe in themselves. The urge to perform and be superstars makes the young gems shine and know whatever they want in life. Developing a personality takes lots of factors into consideration. The elements can include personal awareness and assessment of the same. Understanding yourself better will make you become the authentic brand you need to grow. Engaging in physical activities makes children acquire personal organization skills and develop a character that will add up to their personality and identity. The nature of an individual will determine their career choices, interactions, and passions.
Regulating Emotions and Creativity
Furthermore, playing makes youngsters more flexible and able to regulate their emotions. Substitution is necessitated by the coach's decision being right always. A coach can decide to substitute a player to make a deserved change. The player replaced should agree with the coach for the decision made. The significant impact needed might make the coach make a given resolution. It is also important to know that controlling emotions, especially negative emotions, is a prerequisite in playing (Lillard et al., 2012). For instance, a player from your side or the opponent's side may tackle you with a hard tackle, which should not be an opportunity for you to escalate the situation but to calm down and keep the focus on the game. Regulating emotions, especially negative emotions, helps children focus their energy on the positive activity hence averting conflicts.
Furthermore, playing makes youngsters creative. Creativity is encouraged by taking part in games. Here the child learns that it is necessary to be on top of the game and do stuff in a better way that will lead to the victory of the team (Lester and Russell 2014). Being part and parcel of a quality team dictates that one ought to show high levels of creativity and the zeal to learn. Creativity will help children be integral members of the group who will always look forward to finding solutions. Creativity gives an individual the eyes to see what others cannot see hence it is very critical to children who are the leaders of tomorrow.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it is essential to determine the role of children's social play in development. The government ought to put policies and legislative regulations that will encourage the education system to emphasize out-of-class activities. Playing games by youngsters will equip them with vital skills that will make them responsible adults. The benefits that come as a result of taking part in play make children creative and risk-takers. Another advantage that playing brings is the development of personalities, coping skills, and even appreciating competition in life (Lester and Russell 2014). Coping skills, for example, make people be in a better position to move on from moments of disappointments and hope for a better future without wallowing in the mud. Children should be encouraged to play to kill the boredom of the classroom and have fun while learning functional life skills.
References
Lester, S. and Russell, W. (2014) ‘Children’s right to play’, in The SAGE Handbook of Play and Learning in Early Childhood, pp. 294–305. doi: 10.4135/9781473907850.n25.
Lillard, A. S. et al. (2012) ‘The impact of pretend play on children’s development: a review of the evidence’, Psychology Bulletin, 139(1), pp. 1–34. doi: 10.1037/a0029321.
