Talking about children, the first thing that would obviously pop into ones’ mind is the laughter and fun they have playing. Has anyone wondered why kids play, or, even more so, who taught them to play?

I think the answer is pretty simple – play is instinctive. In nature, it is evident in animals too - cubs, kittens and pups pounce and prance about and even play tag. This way they learn vital life skills to hunt and avoid being hunted. While the life skills animals and humans need, vary largely, the way we acquire them is quite the same.

When a toddler tinkers with his mom’s pots and pans in the kitchen, he is not merely the source of unpleasant noise. He learns how to hold, stack and bang, and all this is possible as he learns to co-ordinate his large and small muscles - a simple, yet vital milestone in a child’s developmental progress. No matter what the object of play is, there is always something very valuable a child will learn from it.

A child doesn’t really need a lot to play, a simple bedspread can turn into a superhero’s cloak, a tent, a magic carpet, and the list is endless. While it can sometimes be baffling, the things children can come up with while playing; it is interesting to note that this is where creativity stems from. Sadly, our stereotype educational systems and over-burdening busy schedules somehow tend to supressthis sense of play within children.

A hypothetical situation - if the creativity smothering process was to start at an early age of about 4 or 5 years, what would be left in us when we reach 25? If the math is right we would be left with little or no creativity at all. But then, the irony is that every corporate or job provider looks out for people who can think “outside the box”, which is nothing but simple CREATIVE thinking.

The phrase “prevention is better than cure” is more than apt for this scenario. Allowing children to play does them a world of good, helping their overall development, which includes physical, intellectual, social and emotional growth. It’s also important for us as parents to realise that play doesn't really mean expensive toys. Building a sand castle, playing tag, moulding shapes with dough, painting with colours, splashing about in a tub could all be simple activities we could engage our little ones with. What really matters here is our child’s total involvement in the activity and not the end product.

So play ideally reflects on how we want our child to grow up, to enjoy and appreciate the simple pleasures of life.

Author - 
Archana Swathy, Founder Director
GiggleWhiz Early Learning Studio