The Power of ‘Age-Appropriate’ Play!

-Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all- Aristotle

Children’s success as learners depends on strong foundationsdeveloped from infancy. Play based learning fosters critical skills, understanding and dispositions which are essential for a child’s lifelong learning, development and wellbeing.

Children need the freedom and time to play, for them play is a necessity. Friedrich Froebel, a German educator who created the concept of ‘kindergarten’ believed that “play is the highest expression of human development in childhood, for it alone is the free expression of what is in a child’s soul” During playing, a child exercises his ability to explore, imagine and make decisions and at the same time intensely enjoys the process. Educators at early childhood education and care services (play schools) use a wide range of play based experiences for children’s learning and development rather than using structured lessons or formal teaching experiences. However the type of play to engage in and the purpose it serves changes during the course of childhood. In other words the games set up for children should be age
appropriate, which can be played safely and enjoyably and at the same time should help the child develop skills and undergo not only physical but also social, emotional and cognitive development.

With the pandemic hitting us so hard, with most schools closed majority of children unable to even get out of their house owing to lockdown and isolation practices. Most parents and guardians wondering “what kind of toys and
games should be introduced to children at different ages”. ‘What kind of toys and games can be harmful?’

There are many categories oftoys like sensory toys, combinatorial toys, pretend play toys, board games, social games,
books etc. by the age of one month, a baby starts recognizing mother and smiles occasionally at mother. After two months the baby develops a “social smile” which means that the baby starts smiling at people. After the baby achieves
this milestone we can introduce toys which stimulate the different senses of a child-sight, hearing, touch like, shaking a rattle makes noise. These are rightly called sensory toys and include rattles, squeezable toys, teething toys, textured balls, bubbles. at threefour months the baby looks at his own hands very intently and brings hands in midline as he
plays. A red ring, cube may be dangled in front of him which he tries to grasp and bring it to his mouth. at six months the baby will hold the cube in a crude manner, starts rolling over and can transfer objects from one hand to another.
we may offer pellets to the baby to further develop these fine skills but parents must be cautious as at this time, the child tends to mouth any object that he finds. The baby sits without support at around eight months, stands holding furniture at nine months. At one year, the child stands without support and starts walking but falls numerous times. At this stage combinatorial toys may be given which teach the child to build. These include stacking rings, blocks, puzzles, nesting cups.

With advancing age, the child does finer activities. Much of the advanced skills depend on the opportunity given by the
caretakers to the child. At 15 months, the child turns 2-3 pages of a book, scribbles on a paper and starts building towers. At this time the child should be introduced to ‘pretend play toys’ like doctor set, kitchen set, puppets, dolls, tower making. Pretend play is an important stage in development as it signals the child is able to understand the difference between the real world and the pretend world. After the second year, he can unscrew lids, turn doorknobs and his block skills also advance. He can now draw circular and vertical strokes and turn pages of a book one at a time. Picture books may be given 1 year onwards but board book and story books should be given 2 years onwards. The younger the child, the more pictures in books are likely to attract. Movement based activities like swings, slides, seesaw, ball play should be done 2 years onwards initially with supervision. Social games like hide and seek should be played after 3 years as these games teach turn taking and how to socialize with the world. Board games and card games like ludo, snake ladder teach the child rules, turn taking and ideas of winning/ losing, should be played 6 years onwards.

If your child has developmental delay or other medical problem, consider the developmental level your child is currently in and then introduce toys. For example, if your child is 3 years old but has not reached the level of pretend
play, he may enjoy more sensory level toys. Anything can be a toy even a piece of paper, we don’t have to buy expensive fancy toys but we have to encourage our child to engage with things he enjoys because children do not learn by seeing,they learn by doing. For those with developmental disability, modified equipments(hand cycles) may be
used. you may start from simple things(water, sand), sensory toys and respect the child’s likes/ dislikes. Ensure your child’s social group is accepting your child by speaking to their parents beforehand.

Till 3 years, toys with big parts ,no sharp edges are better and those made of PVC(plastic) should be avoided as that can expose your child to cadmium and lead poisoning if the child mouths the toy. It is wise for adults to supervise outdoor activities till 6 years of age.

As adults, playing with our child can be an excellent way of building a relationship with the child, finding out his thoughts, concerns and teaching the importance of recreation. Further ‘free play’ is important. We should allow our
child to play as he wants and not as we direct, it allows children to use their imagination and be creative. However some time should be given to structured activities on your command 2 years onwards. Remember not to be too
harsh as a child’s attention span is too less, even 10 minutes is very long for a 2 year old to sit and do something! History will judge us by the difference we make in the everyday lives of children- Nelson Mandela.

By Dr. Bipasa Kar

The writer is a final year post
graduate student in MKCG
Medical College.

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