Building Language Through Play
07 May 2019
WHAT IS PLAY?
Play is a child’s work. Play is important for every child’s development and it offers parents the opportunity to connect with their child.
During infancy, play is often directed by the child and the rewards come from within the child. Play is not only enjoyable but spontaneous. It helps the child to learn motor skills and cognitive thinking. Most importantly, play helps your child to develop language and socialization skills. Play allows the child to learn to communicate emotions, to think, be creative and solve problems.
TYPES OF PLAY:
As your child grows and develops, his or her play evolves. There are many different types of play you can use with your child such as: sensorimotor play, associative play, motor-physical play, expressive play, constructive play, social play and pretend play. Besides these types of play, the selection of toys to be used during play is important too.
In choosing the right toys, below are some tips you can consider:
ADDING LANGUAGE VIA PLAY
Play has been known to develop language (Weisberg et al., 2013). Understanding this fact is meaningless without learning the ways to stimulate language via play. Listed below are some techniques you may use with your child during play in expanding their language skills:
References:
- Pepper, J. and Weitzman, E. It Takes Two to Talk: A Practical Guide for Parents of Children with Language Delays. The Hanen Centre. 2004.
- Ginsburg, KR.The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds. American Academy of Pediatrics. 2007; 119 (1)
- Weisberg, DS.,Zosh, JM., Hirsh-Pasek, K. and Golinkoff, RM. Talking It Up: Play, Language Development, and the Role of Adult Support. American Journal of Play. 2013; 6 (1)
- Oddo, JM., Castleberry, L. The Importance of Play in the Development of Language Skills. Atlanta Speech School. 2013.
- Slutsky, R., Slutsky, M. and DeShelter, LM. Playing with Technology: Is It All Bad? Dimensions of Early Chidlhood. 2014.
- Tips for Choosing Toys for Toddlers. Retrieved from http://www.zerotothree.org/child-development/play/tips-for-choosing-toys-for.html?referrer=https://www.google.com/
- Choosing the Right Toys for the Right Age. Retrieved from http://www.webmd.com/parenting/features/choosing-right-toys-for-right-age
