Let them play free!

Play is one of the most important activities in a child’s life. Do you want to know why it is important and what its effects are on a cognitive level?

Modern life, with both parents working, with little time to dedicate to children, has changed family life. Among these changes, we find that, on many occasions, to fill children’s time, they are enrolled in a large number of extracurricular activities. One of the consequences is that children play less and less, and Play during their early years is a fundamental part of their learning and, therefore, their development. Let them play free!
Play is the way in which children learn about themselves and their relationship with their environment.. The game provides them with a stress-free environment in which They can practice new skills. And, of course, take risks, express yourself and explore creativity, independence, curiosity and problem solving.

Thanks to play, children learn through meaningful interaction with the environment. For a boy, The game is overcoming challenges and fun, learning new ways of doing things. From the perspective of adults, It is also a means to develop and practice skills that will be needed in the future, such as social behaviors, motor skills and cognitive abilities

Game benefits

1. Intrinsic motivation / internal drive

We can recognize a child engaged in play when he or she is paying more attention to the process and not to the product of the game itself. What does this mean? For example, a child who sits unabashedly crushing an elaborate sand castle he has just made. This is because the creation of the sandcastle has a much higher value to the child than the finished product.

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2. Internal Control

Let’s think something: The game is a unique situation for the child, since it allows him to enjoy his own momenta space in which he can exercise some control over the activity he carries out, which does not happen in most aspects of his life in which he is controlled by adults.

3. The freedom to get out of reality

Children devote intense concentration and attention to the play activity. During this process of concentrating on play, the child becomes relatively oblivious to external structures. Many health professionals use play as a therapeutic tool in their work with children.

Let them play free!

It is important to stop and think about what we want for our children, and stop overprotecting them. Or, stop overstimulating them with an excessive amount of activities.

They don’t have to be the smartest, to speak several languages, to be little chefs and, in addition, to play chess at a competitive level… Why don’t we allow children to be children? By playing they will enhance their curiosity and even discover and strengthen their particular talents.

Play in a group

It is essential to allow them to play with other children, whenever possible. It is clear that television and consoles do not encourage their imagination because they are passive games. When they play outside, outdoors and with their friends, there are no limits to their imagination. Children who are given a space of freedom create their games, define their own dynamics and even establish some rules by consensus with their peers.

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If you want your young children’s creativity and imagination to continue growing, provide them with plenty of opportunities to play freely., as many as possible. As for toys, provide some that are simple and with which children can try, contribute, put, change, throw, invent, take away, imagine…

Anyway, It is about the child being the protagonist, that he is the one who directs the game and that the toy is only a mere tool. And he remembers: Let them play free!