Play: A Necessity for all Children

Isenberg, Joan P.; Quisenberry, Nancy L.

doi:10.1080/00094056.1988.10521522

Cited by 50 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 13 publications

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“…Isenberg & Quisenberry, 1988). Correlations have been examined for all domains here except reasoning and are inconsistent for creativity, null for conservation, and for problem solving are to construction play, not pretend play.…”

Section: Conclusion: Cognitive Aptitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.

Lillard¹,

Lerner²,

Hopkins³

et al. 2013

Psychological Bulletin

628

473

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Pretend play has been claimed to be crucial to children's healthy development. Here we examine evidence for this position versus 2 alternatives: Pretend play is 1 of many routes to positive developments (equifinality), and pretend play is an epiphenomenon of other factors that drive development. Evidence from several domains is considered. For language, narrative, and emotion regulation, the research conducted to date is consistent with all 3 positions but insufficient to draw conclusions. For executive function and social skills, existing research leans against the crucial causal position but is insufficient to differentiate the other 2. For reasoning, equifinality is definitely supported, ruling out a crucially causal position but still leaving open the possibility that pretend play is epiphenomenal. For problem solving, there is no compelling evidence that pretend play helps or is even a correlate. For creativity, intelligence, conservation, and theory of mind, inconsistent correlational results from sound studies and nonreplication with masked experimenters are problematic for a causal position, and some good studies favor an epiphenomenon position in which child, adult, and environment characteristics that go along with play are the true causal agents. We end by considering epiphenomenalism more deeply and discussing implications for preschool settings and further research in this domain. Our take-away message is that existing evidence does not support strong causal claims about the unique importance of pretend play for development and that much more and better research is essential for clarifying its possible role.

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Section: Conclusion: Cognitive Aptitudesmentioning

confidence: 99%

The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.

Lillard¹,

Lerner²,

Hopkins³

et al. 2013

Psychological Bulletin

628

473

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…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 adult caregivers. [7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14] 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. 7,10,15 Undirected play allows children to learn how to work in groups, to share, to negotiate, to resolve conflicts, and to learn self-advocacy skills.…”

Section: The Benefits Of Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

Ginsburg¹,

Shifrin²,

Broughton³

et al. 2007

Pediatrics

1,304

658

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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. Despite the benefits derived from play for both children and parents, time for free play has been markedly reduced for some children. This report addresses a variety of factors that have reduced play, including a hurried lifestyle, changes in family structure, and increased attention to academics and enrichment activities at the expense of recess or free child-centered play. This report offers guidelines on how pediatricians can advocate for children by helping families, school systems, and communities consider how best to ensure that play is protected as they seek the balance in children's lives to create the optimal developmental milieu.

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“…It has also been suggested that play contributes to learning and overall physical, social, emotional and cognitive development (Christie 2001;Gestwicki 1999;Isenberg 2002). The kinaesthetic element, which is frequently present in games, increases children's body awareness and improves their balance, eye-hand coordination and gross motor skills.…”

Section: Introduction: Defining Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Play reduces stress and anxiety (Elkind 1981) and is essential for cognitive development. Isenberg (2002) reports that play enhances attention, concentration, memory, planning and problem-solving skills. Last but not least, play contributes to language development by providing children with opportunities to express themselves and interact with others in language in a meaningful and relevant context (Gardner 1993).…”

Section: Introduction: Defining Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Racławickie 14, Research into child education and development has defined play in terms of a combination of features that describe both the child's actual actions and his/her mindset and motivation for undertaking them (Fromberg 1997(Fromberg , 1998(Fromberg , 2002. Isenberg (2002) provides a range of unique characteristics which underpin playful behaviour. In her paradigm, play includes all actions which are: 1) intrinsically motivated and self-initiated, 2) process rather than product oriented, 3) non-literal and pleasurable, 4) exploratory and active, 5) rule-governed, 6) meaningful, 7) episodic i.e.…”

Section: Introduction: Defining Playmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Learning a foreign language through play

Guz

2016

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A b s t r a c t. Playing comes to children as naturally as breathing and is one of the most predominant forms of activity in a child's life from infancy to adolescence. In fact, the right to engage in developmentally-appropriate play and leisure activities is now recognised internationally as one of the basic human rights of children (UNCRC, Article 31, 1989). Children's playful disposition constitutes a powerful developmental drive whose educational potential cannot be ignored. In order to initiate and maintain meaningful interaction and create developmentallyappropriate learning opportunities, foreign language (FL) teachers of young learners' need to acknowledge play as a central element of early foreign language pedagogy. This paper takes up the issue of learning through play and argues that play-based activities should constitute the core of good classroom practice in young learners' FL instruction. It begins with a definition of play and a discussion of the centrality of play in early and later child development. It then considers the rationale for incorporating elements of play in the FL classroom and presents a range of its benefits and possible applications. Finally, a typology and examples of play-based tasks for very young and young learners are provided followed by some practical guidelines for implementing play in the classroom. The paper concludes with a list of resources for teachers who are willing to integrate play in their curricula.

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Play: A Necessity for all Children

Cited by 50 publications

References 13 publications

The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.

The impact of pretend play on children's development: A review of the evidence.

The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds

Learning a foreign language through play

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