A Critical Analysis of the Validity of Play for Pre-School Children

Abstract

The emphasis of this paper will be on children's play and how it benefits children in their physical development. Observing that young children and constantly engaging in play during their first few years of life, parents, teachers, and adults in general question whether play is or is not beneficial to the motor development of children. When children learn to walk, they delight in walking everywhere and anywhere they are allowed. Then they learn that they can run and run they will as if they were in a constant state of excitement. Eventually they learn to climb, jump, skip, and balance themselves on boards and boxes. They delight in experimenting with new experiences and in repeated learned experiences. All this is play to young children and yet, it is more than play, it is furthering the development of their muscular coordinations. They are learning to control and use their body, hands, and feet to do what they desire. They are also strengthening their muscles which are very important to physical growth.