PLAYING IS GROWING

The integration of a child in society takes place thanks to two predominant innate pushes: one is to establish gratifying personal relationships with other human beings and the other one is to take hold of the essential daily abilities through many forms of playing.

Through playing, the child experiences people and objects, and this can improve memory, examine causes and effects, reflect on problems, build vocabulary learn to control egocentric emotional reactions and to suit personal behaviour at the cultural models of a social group.

Playing is so essential for the full development of a child’s body, mind and personality, as much as food, a roof, pure air, physical exercise, rest and prevention of illnesses and accidents are for the maintenance of his physical life.

Therefore it’s very important that we as parents, educators, teachers and researchers of human sciences, work to give children proper toys, space and time for playing and pears to play with. These are in fact the essential elements for playing.

Toys must be proper for the age of the child and his or her stage of growth and development. They should not be too few, because the child won't be stimulated enough, neither too many, because he or she would be confused and incapable to focus.

As adults we communicate to children, through the kinds of toys we offer them, a particular representation of the world that they will learn.

It’s useful to have an idea of which kind of toys a child prefers in every stage of his development, in order to offer encouraging and stimulating toys.

From birth the physical development goes together with the development of the active game. These activities, through the control of the coarse movements of the body, allow the child to enjoy the abilities to succeed in sitting, moving on hands and knees, learning to stand up, to race, to climb, to jump and to throw things. It’s important to offer, where possible, a suitable place for playing, natural obstacles, a simple and safe, mobile or fixed, equipment for playing.