CreativePlay Plus: Ideas in Play and Child Development

Dr. Kessler offered a number of helpful ideas for parents to consider when picking out children’s books for young children ages 2 to 4:

• Consider vocabulary—It’s also important to look at the language used in the book. Children crave learning and understanding new words and ideas. Books that can expose children to new words can help expand their vocabulary and keep them interested in reading.
• Check out the illustrations—In addition to vocabulary, illustrations are also very important. Parents can use the pictures in books to help expand ideas in the story and promote understanding. Parents can also help children focus on the story by asking questions about the illustrations like, “what do you see”?
• Any lessons learned? Books that compare ideas are often interesting to young children and teach important lessons. Look for books that introduce simple concepts like how things grow and that compare and contrast ideas like big-little or brave-scared. Books that describe and compare ideas are also presenting new information to children which make them very popular among young, curious thinkers.
• Is it interesting? Finally, it is important to look at the content and see if it matches your child’s interests. As a parent, flip through the book and see how you can expand the reading experience for your child.

Children love repetition and often they want to read the same books over and over again. If children want to read the same book night after night, let them!  Dr. Kessler stresses that parents or caregivers should not feel pressured to move kids quickly on to something new. Reading the same books each night may be interesting to them and also may be comforting for them. When children re-read familiar books, they may feel good about being able to more easily follow along and anticipate how the story will go. Parents can encourage children to read a variety of books, however, it’s important not to push them too quickly. Be patient, kids will move on to new books when they are ready.

When reading to infants and toddlers do you find yourself describing the pictures your child points to? If so, that’s great! Dr. Kessler, emphasized when reading to young children, it is important to spend time looking carefully at the pictures and describing what you see. This helps infants and young children to connect the pictures with the words they hear and helps them piece together the story. Additionally, this action helps children pay attention to details that are not only contained in what you’re saying, but what they are looking at.

There has been a lot of buzz following this year’s 92^nd Street Y Wonderplay Early Childhood Conference which focused on “The Importance of Play, Imagination and Creative Thinking.” Recess was the hot topic discussed at the conference and how this crucial part of the school day has been greatly reduced and sometimes eliminated all together in exchange for more instructional time in the classroom. Research so far has found associations between the amount of time spent in an unstructured free play environment and learning abilities as well as social, emotional, and physical development. More research is needed to better understand the amount of time children have for recess and the impact this time has on their development.

Following the conference, Education Week and the Washington Post published articles regarding the concern that children are not having enough time to play during the school day.

• For more information on the topic of recess and child development, check out Recess in Elementary
  School: What Does the Research Say? by Olga Jarrett, one of the child development experts at the conference.
• If you’re interested in learning more about the importance of children’s play check out the clinical
  report issued in 2007 by the American Academy of Pediatrics. This report has a lot of great information supporting the need for more research to better understand the benefits of playtime and advocating for a child’s right to play.

How much time does your children have for recess during and after the school day?

While working with families to help them improve their play skills, I’ve come across many parents who want to know what toys they ought to have available at home for their children. The easy answer is anything you would want to play with and think was fun. But there are some things to consider to help get the most out of a toy and playtime at home. Here are some ideas to have in mind while debating your holiday purchases this year:

• Is the toy age appropriate and will the toy be appealing to your child for many years or will they soon grow out of it? For example, toys like blocks, dolls, and cars are toys children continue to enjoy as they get older. It’s a great investment to find toys that will not lose their allure too quickly!
• Consider what your child already has. Do they have a lot of cars, dolls, or action figures, but do not have blocks to build with, puzzles to solve, or arts and craft materials to be creative?
• Is this a toy your child is meant to passively play with? For instance, does your child have to use their imagination to make sounds for a toy car or are they suppose to push buttons to hear the sound?
• Is this a toy the whole family can play with together?
• Is it a toy that will promote your child’s imagination and problem solving skills?

Lastly, consider if it’s a toy that can be used in many ways and assess the quality of the toy. Is its appeal mainly that it’s covered in your child’s beloved tv character or that it’s actually a fun and interesting toy?

Some great creative play/child development links from a quick trip around the baby blogosphere:

• A detailed list of Natural Childbirth options from Lin at TellinItLikeItIs.net
• A discussion on Families.com about Kids and Movies: How Young is Too Young?
• A great post at EcoChildsPlay.com on the lessons of playing in the sand.
• How to make a Holiday Gratitude Can from BlissfullyDomestic.com
• On Suite101.com, How to reduce the risk of SIDS by dressing baby properly.
• Step2’s Thinkativity toys get rave reviews from CosmoTot.
• Here’s an easy-peasy playdough recipe from the Crunchy Domestic Goddess.