JUST GO PLAY! How many times have I heard a mother say this? How many times have I said it to my children when they were growing up? More times than I can count! This question assumes that a child knows how to play and that is not always true. It wasn't true with my youngest child. Slowly, after making some false assumptions, I learned that I would need to teach my son some play skills.
So, what's the big deal? All I needed to do was teach a little boy how to play? Easy, right? No, child's play is complicated and it takes work to break it down in order to teach it. I have heard it said that play is a child's work! It takes a child many years to develop a strong set of play skills.
Think how hard it is for children who have deficits in the area of play?
Over the next few weeks we'll look at
- What are the different types of play?
- What are the most important underlying skills needed for play?
- How can a parent, sibling or caretaker help?
- How does play affect social skills, language and motor skills?
- Activities you can do with your child?
- Play dates? How can you set your child up for success?
I would love to hear some of your experiences teaching a child play skills!
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