Why do Children Play? Importance of Play Piaget's Theory

2. Why do
children
Play?

3. PLAY…
“The natural unfolding of the germinal leaves of
childhood” - Froebel
“Free self-expression for the pleasure of
expression” - Seashore
“The motor habits and spirit of the past persisting
in the present.” - Hall
“Instinctive Practice, without serious intent, of
activities which will later be essential to life” -
Groos

4. PLAY…
is the way a child explores his
world, builds skills, exercises
his imagination and learns
through experience.
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

5. Importance of PLAY
Consider what is happening when a child plays with
blocks:
Physical development:
He is learning how to
control small muscles and
how to coordinate eyes
and hands to stack and
balance the blocks.
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

6. Importance of PLAY
Consider what is happening when a child plays with
blocks:
Cognitive development:
He is developing
mathematical concepts by
sorting the blocks by size
and shape and figuring
out what number of
blocks are needed to fill a
space.
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

7. Importance of PLAY
Consider what is happening when a child plays with
blocks:
Development of
imagination, creativity,
and problem solving
skills
Using his imagination, he
figures out how to make
it—and how to fix it when
“construction” doesn’t go
as planned.SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

8. Importance of PLAY
Consider what is happening when a child plays with
blocks:
Social and Emotional
Development
His self-directed activity
will help him enjoy
learning and experience
success—all of which
build confidence,
satisfaction, and the
motivation to learn.SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

9. Importance of PLAY
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek
Understanding and
practice of sharing,
turn taking, and
other peer
cooperation skills

10. Importance of PLAY
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

11. Early Classical Theories
• Schiller 1873 Spencer 1875Surplus Energy Theory
• Lazarus 1883 Patrick 1916Relaxation Theory
• Mitchell and Mason, 1948Recreation Theory
• RousseauInstinct Theory
• G’Stanley Hall 1906Recapitulation Theory
• Groos 1898Pre-Exercise Theory
• Appleton 1919Growth Theories
• Lange 1902 Claparde 1911Ego-Expanding Theories
SOURCE: California State University Northridge Website

12. Early Classical Theories
• Schiller 1873 Spencer 1875Surplus Energy
Theory
Play is the result of surplus energy that exists
because the young are freed from the business of self-
preservation through the activities of their parents.
Energy finds its release in the aimless exuberant
activities of play.
It does not explain why people with little energy still
play

13. Early Classical Theories
• Lazarus 1883 Patrick 1916Relaxation Theory
Play is seen as a mode of dissipating the
inhibitions built up from-fatigue due to tasks that
are relatively new to the organism.
To play is to RELAX…

14. Early Classical Theories
• Mitchell and Mason, 1948
Recreation
Theory
Play as a way to recuperate from fatigue
experienced from hard work
Play restores energy and provides more
benefit to the body than idleness

15. Early Classical Theories
• RousseauInstinct Theory
Play is inherited and that the child will engage
in behaviors and activities instinctively.
Play is INSTINCTIVE

16. Early Classical Theories
• G’Stanley Hall 1906Recapitulation
Theory
Play serves to rid the organism of primitive and
unnecessary instinctual skills carried over by
hereditary.
 “Play as the result of biological inheritance.”

17. Early Classical Theories
• Groos 1898Pre-Exercise
Theory
Play is the necessary practice for behaviors
that are essential to later survival.
The playful fighting of animals or the rough and
tumble play of children are essentially the
practice of skills that will later aid their survival.

18. Early Classical Theories
• Appleton 1919Growth
Theories
Play is a response to a generalized drive for
growth In the organism.
Play serves to facilitate the mastery of skills
necessary to the function of adult behaviors.

19. Early Classical Theories
• Lange 1902 Claparde 1911
Ego-Expanding
Theories
Play is nature's way of completing the ego an
expressive exercising of the ego and the rest of
the personality; an exercising that develops
cognitive skills and aids in the emergence of
additional skills.

20. Current Theories
Infantile
Dynamics
Lewin
Cathartic
Theory
Freud
1908
Psychoanalytic
Theory
Buhler
1920
Anna
Freud
1937
Cognitive
Theory
Piaget
1962
SOURCE: California State University Northridge Website

21. Current Theories
• LewinInfantile
Dynamics
Play occurs because the cognitive life space of
the child is still unstructured, resulting in failure to
discriminate between real and unreal.

22. Current Theories
• BuytendijkInfantile
Dynamics
The child plays because he is a child and
because his cognitive dynamics do not allow for
any other way of behaving.
Play is an expression of the child's
uncoordinated approach to the environment.

23. Current Theories
• Freud 1908Cathartic
Theory
Play represents an attempt to partially satisfy
drives or to resolve conflicts when the child
really doesn’t have the means to do so.
When a child works through a drive through
play he has at least temporarily resolved it.

24. Current Theories
• Buhler 1920
• Anna Freud 1937
Psychoanalytic
Theory
Play represents not merely wish-fulfilling
tendencies but also mastery -- an attempt
through repetition to cope with overwhelming
anxiety-provoking situations.
Play is defensive as well as adaptive in dealing
with anxiety'.

25. Current Theories
• Piaget 1962Cognitive
Theory
Play is derived from the child's working out of
two fundamental characteristics of his mode of
experience and development.
These are accommodation and assimilation --
the attempts to integrate new experiences into
the relatively limited number of motor and
cognitive skills available at each age.

26. Piaget’s Theory
(3 Stages of Children’s Development)
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek

27. Piaget’s Theory
(3 Stages of Children’s Development)
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek
The child at this stage
uses senses and motor
abilities to figure out the
world.
Through repetitive play,
the young child learns how
to keep in mind what's out
of sight and how to cause
a reaction.

28. Piaget’s Theory
(3 Stages of Children’s Development)
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek
The child acquires the
ability to use symbols but
still requires physical
props and concrete
situations to solve
problems.

29. Piaget’s Theory
(3 Stages of Children’s Development)
SOURCE: ASTRAtoy.org by Nancy Stanek
From physical
experience, the school-
age child learns to
conceptualize.
Student relies on
experiment and discovery
to hotwire the brain

30. Mildred B. Parten
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
 1932 - developed a system for
classifying participation in play.
 This organization is still
considered one of the best
descriptions of how play
develops in children (Gander,
Mary and Harry W. Gardiner,
1981).

31. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Unoccupied
Play
Onlooker
Behavior
Solitary
Independent
Play
Parallel Play
Associate
Play
Cooperative
Play
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers
and Parents by Carolyn R. Tomlin

32. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Unoccupied
Play
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin
Not actually “playing”
watches anything that
will catch his interest
may play with his own
body, move around or
follow a teacher

33. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Onlooker
Behavior
This stage is termed
“behavior” instead of
play because this child
is content in watching
other children
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin

34. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Solitary
Independent
Play
Children prefer to play
by themselves and are
not comfortable
interacting with other
children.
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin

35. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Parallel
Play
This stage is also
known as adjacent
play or social coaction.
Children occupy space
near others, but seldom
share toys or materials.
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin

36. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Associate
Play
“Every child for
himself.”
At this stage, the
children are beginning to
engage in close
personal contact,
however, they still
consider their own
viewpoint as most
important.SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin

37. PARTEN’s Classification of Play
Cooperative
Play
Highest form of
children working and
playing together
They share, take
turns, and allow some
children to serve as
leaders for the group
SOURCE: Early Childhood News The Professional Resource for Teachers and Parents by Carolyn
R. Tomlin

38. References:
 http://www.astratoy.org/the-importance-of-play.asp
 http://www.csun.edu/~sb4310/theoriesplay.htm
 http://www.astratoy.org/piaget-and-play.asp
 http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/a
rticle_view.aspx?ArticleID=618
 http://theories-theorists.wikispaces.com/Julie+-
+Theory+of+Play
 http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/css287/287CLSCL
.pdf