Kids and Play: A Pediatrician’s Advice for Parents

Kids and Play: A Pediatrician’s Advice for Parents

- in Health

Toddlers love to play. It is one of the things they do best. Whether it is playing with a stuffed animal or participating in a round of peek-a-boo with a parent, one would be hard-pressed to find a kid who did not enjoy playing. But how crucial is the act of playing to infants? Are they merely having fun or does it serve a higher purpose? To help answer these questions we spoke with Dr. Arthur Lavin MD, FAAP, a pediatrician in private practice and an associate clinical professor of pediatrics at Case Medical School in Cleveland.

The two most important things that toddlers accomplish while playing are “having fun, including making friends,” and, “developing a progressive skill base,” Lavin says.
These two purposes remain constant for all types of play in which children engage. The younger the child is, the less structure they will have in their play, he says. This is why infants most commonly tend to play naturally, have fun, use imagination and simply do his or her own thing. When a child is around 3-5 years old, that is when it becomes normal to see them in more formal programs like pre-school or sports programs.
It is important to remember that no matter the child’s age or the activity they are involved in, it is important to keep in mind the two main points stated earlier. The infants and toddlers should always be having fun and usually developing some type of skill in the way they play.

“We see no reason for children to enroll in such programs for other reasons. There is no virtue in hewing to a program after school that demands discipline but makes the child miserable and for which the child has no intention or interest in gaining new sets of skills. Most of us adults were subjected to such ideas, and I know of very few people who feel their lives today are good because of being forced to do fun things they did not feel were fun or interesting,” Lavin says.

To make sure a child is fulfilling these two purposes, parents just need to watch their child as they participate and ask themselves, “Does my child have fun or is my child engaged and enjoying learning a new skill base?” If the answer is no to either, then Lavin suggests letting the child out of the program or having them play in some different way.

While having fun and expanding a skill set is important while the child is playing, is the act itself essential?

Lavin points out that for children six and under, “No [formal] programming is critical to optimal brain development. Of all activities, the most powerful inducement to good cognitive development is play. Consider that nearly all the great discoveries of the world were the result of playful minds, not formal programs.” So pretty much any type of play will do, as long as it is enjoyed. The simplest activity will suffice.
As a child grows and gets older, that is when extracurricular activities become important, parents should encourage their kids to partake.

“For children ages six and up, extracurricular activities become more fun as their ability to be playful with their minds gets more complicated. A ten year old will get more out of a chess club than a two year old, for example. But again, even for the high school student, programs outside of school should be judged on the child’s sense of whether the program is fun and whether the skill set is of interest,” Lavin says.
For now let the infants and toddler have fun for the sake of having fun. Just make sure there is a smile on her face and his laughing fills the room. The rest will come later.

 

About the author

Matthew Rusnak recently graduated from the University of Akron with a bachelor's degree in English. His work has also been published in Rubbertop Review: A Literary Journal.

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