Playing with Your Little One

IMG_7886Technique 90 – Join in play with your child as much as you would like.

There are no rules for playing together. There are also no barriers. You can take the lead, or you can let your child set it up. You can also sit back, relax, and watch your child’s creativity take over. No matter how you do it, actively or passively, just by being involved, you will see that your child’s intellectual capacity and verbal skills will keep on growing.

Parenting Insight…

Respond appropriately and show sincere interest. Research shows that the amount of time you play with your young child during the years from birth through age 5 is directly related to your child’s academic achievement.

April! The Month of Volunteering

“Love stretches your heart 

and makes you big inside.”

~ Margaret Walker

American writer

 

Comments

  1. Good morning Sally,
    Play is a critical part of brain development during the years 0-3. The developing brain gets wired through play. The infant begins to respond,”dance,” serve and return. The infant learns joy from play with the laughter and fun that she enjoys. She learns that adults care for her. They are happy that she is there and in turn feel that she belongs. Play is one of the many skills that your infant/toddler needs in order to learn some social skills: how to interact with adults, peers, adaptive social behavior, emotional expression. As your infant becomes a toddler, play plays a very important role in developing fine motor, gross motor and just the brain in general. Young children learn through play when the correct tools are provided that allow skill building. It is not good to interrupt children when they are playing as you may prevent that moment of discovery from taking place.

    An example: Last week my 2.5 year-old grandson was playing with a toy. He was also drinking from his sippie cup. He also wanted to pick up another toy, but he realized that both of his hands were occupied. So he used his teeth to hold his cup, and then he bent down to pick up the other toy. If I had walked over and picked up the toy for him he would not have discovered that he could use his teeth to hold his bottle. Young children learn through discoveries and must be allowed that opportunity through play.

  2. Hi Daseta,

    Thank you very much for adding your comment. You and I share a passion for helping others to understand how special the years are from birth to age three and what a powerful influence parents, grandparents and caregivers have when they play with, love, and care for their absolutely amazing little ones.

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