Welcome to the Information Zone of 123 SmartKids! This Information Zone is an online resource for all our customers, outlining the importance of toys and play to children's development. We highlight the types of play and their immeasurable benefits to the growth of happy and smart children. In addition to the articles and resources in this area, we provide customers with information regarding toy safety and other vital information that will assist them in choosing the right toys for their children.
What is Play?
Play is often referred to as the ‘work’ of children. Play is the universal language of childhood; it is the way children learn. It is through play that children understand each other and make sense of the world around them. Play is essential to development because it contributes to the cognitive, physical, social, and emotional well-being of children and youth. Play also offers an ideal opportunity for parents to engage fully with their children. Having fun with your child will encourage him to discover new things and form a wonderful bond between you! “Every child learn through play”
The Benefits of Play
Play allows children to use their creativity while developing their imagination, dexterity, and physical, cognitive, and emotional strength. Play is important to healthy brain development. It is through play that children at a very early age engage and interact in the world around them. Play allows children to create and explore a world they can master, conquering their fears while practicing adult roles, sometimes in conjunction with other children or adults. As they master their world, play helps children develop new competencies that lead to enhanced confidence and the resiliency they will need to face future challenges.
Free play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills. Undirected play also helps children in developing creativity, leadership and group skills. When play is allowed to be child driven, children practice decision-making skills, move at their own pace, discover their own areas of interest, and ultimately engage fully in the passions they wish to pursue. In contrast to passive entertainment, play builds active, healthy bodies.
Types of Play
Active/Physical Play
Active play is a type of play that allows children to use their large muscles, exercise and gain control over their whole body. It provides critical opportunities for children to develop both individual gross and fine muscle strength and overall integration of muscles, nerves, and brain functions. As children play indoors and outdoors, they develop increasing agility, coordination and balance. This type of play can be broken down into “gross motor skills” and “fine motor skills”. Example of gross motor skills includes: ride-on-toys, bicycles, swinging at the playground, skipping, and activities like threading beads, drawing, colouring, construction toys, etc encourages the development of fine motor skills.
Creative Play
Creative play explores your child’s imagination and encourages her to create something out of nothing! Creative play is an essential means of encouraging your child to experiment and explore the world around him. This sort of play will encourage fine motor/manipulative skills, intellectual development through creation of and naming of images, language development through describing her pictures and at the same time encouraging social skills when playing and relating to friends. It helps him to discover, through his senses, the properties of different materials. This type of play includes activities such Arts & Creativity (drawing, painting, modelling, cookery), and so on.
Imaginative Play
Imaginative/Fantasy/Pretend play is when your child pretends to be another person. This type of play is when a child really learns to use her imagination and this is very good for her intellectual development. Children learn to abstract, to try out new roles and possible situations, and develop their emotion and language skills through the speeches they use in pretend play.
In addition, children develop flexible thinking; learn to create beyond the here and now; stretch their imaginations, use new words and word combinations in a risk-free environment, and use numbers and words to express ideas, concepts, dreams, and histories. In an ever-more technological society, lots of practice with all forms of abstraction - time, place, amount, symbols, words, and ideas - is essential. Sample toys are dolls & dolls accessories, doll houses, vehicles, and much more.
Manipulative/Constructive Play
Manipulative or Constructive play is when children manipulate their environment to create things. When children participate in manipulative play they are developing control of their bodies, especially the smaller muscles of hand, finger, arm, and eye. Manipulative play refers to activities where children move, order, turn, or screw items to make them fit. It allows children to take control of their world by mastering the objects in their vicinity. Children practise making decisions, choosing their own materials, and setting and solving their own problems. Newly learnt skills are reinforced and perfected, and as they take responsibility for their own learning they gain in confidence and self esteem.
This sort of play involves hand-eye co-ordination and motor skills and comes under physical development of your child. Physical development is the process that your child gains control of his movements at different stages. Examples are Arts & Creativity, Building & Stacking Blocks, Puzzles
Manipulative/Constructive play helps children to:
Learn about concepts of size, shape, weight, length, and height
Gain knowledge about sequence, conservation, comparison, order, patterning, identifying, colour, and texture.
Gain knowledge about sequence, conservation, comparison,
order, patterning, identifying, colour, and texture
Develop coordination and control of eye, arm, hand, and finger muscles.
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