Playing is a concept that immediately conjures up the image of happy and laughing children. Meanwhile, when someone talks about learning, it’s most likely that you think about school: structured classes and books.
However, learning and playing are not mutually exclusive. On the contrary, children learn a lot in their early years, and they do this primarily through play.
Many institutions have adopted play-based learning, using a simple but powerful concept to enhance a child’s development.
Here are some reasons why children learn through play.
Toys
Toys help to stimulate and encourage learning in your child. There are many different types of educational toys, like the range from My Happy Helpers.
These toys give something to centre your children’s play around and stimulate learning in set directions.
Therefore, you can help to inadvertently build your kids’ creativity or problem-solving skills as they play.
Observation
We all know about the idiom “monkey see, monkey do”. Well, this is the basis with which babies and toddlers learn many things.
Babies learn by watching and mimicking. That is why parents are encouraged to play simple games with their little one.
Having a visually stimulating nursery for your baby can help them to hone their powers of observation and attention span. Babies also need space to explore on their own and discover the myriad aspects of their area.
By crawling, rolling, and climbing, they build their senses. We can help them on their way by giving them more things to interact with, such as toys and puzzles.
Muscles and Fine Motor Skills
Playing can be a full-body experience. Even just running about can help to build kids’ endurance and give them proper exercise? Throwing and catching balls or kicking them around helps to develop their hand-eye coordination.
Interacting with toys helps your child to build up muscle strength. It teaches them how to handle things so that they have a good grip, how to balance and position items so that nothing falls.
More intricate activities, such as arts and crafts, can help to develop excellent motor skills. Coloring within lines and cutting paper are examples of tasks that require care and concentration.
All of the things picked up through this kind of play can help in the future, by equipping your child with physical skills that will come in handy later.
Socialization
Playing also facilitates socialization. Many games require or are more enjoyable with others, especially with kids of the same age. Mixing with other kids has a range of benefits including co-operation, negotiation and sharing.
When interacting with others, kids learn about what is polite and what boundaries others may have. Through play, they are exposed to concepts such as sharing and taking turns.
When issues arise among playmates, children also learn about problem-solving so that everyone ends up happy.
Problem-Solving
Some many games and toys promote problem-solving skills in children. These are not limited to puzzles like jigsaws or the more elaborate educational toys you can find on the market these days.
Simple toys can teach logic even from when your kid is a baby. Cone toys and shape-sorting toys show kids cause and effect and begin the process of learning how to get from one point to another.
Creativity
Games that involve role-playing can also stimulate your children’s creativity. A child’s imagination is a powerful tool that should be nurtured and developed.
Beyond being an outlet of self-expression, creativity can lead your kids to come up with unique and inventive ways to solve problems in the future.
There are many benefits of learning through play. Your child needs time and space to develop their fundamental skills through play.