Week 6 Post 2

While reading chapter 10, I found the section about play to be very interesting. Al developmentalists agree that play is timeless and universal; however, there is a debate as to whether play is critical or just fun. Some educators want to reduce playtime so that children will focus on reading and math skills while others predict that when children do not play enough, there will be consequences. Young children play best with peers who are about the same age and social status. Two year olds are often intrigued by their peers by do not play together.  As children get older, peers provide practice in emotional regulation, empathy, and social understanding. Children usually prefer to play with peers rather than alone or with parents. Young children who never play may have emotional and academic problems later in life. Since play varies by culture, gender, and age, it teaches children values and skills required in their particular context. As children get older, play becomes more social and more affected by their physical setting. A researcher named Mildred Parten distinguished five kinds of play. The first one is solitary play in which the child plays alone and is unaware of other children playing nearby. The second is onlooker play on which the child watches other children play. The third in parallel play in which children play similarly but not together. The fourth is associative play in which children interact by observing and sharing but their play is not yet mutual. The last is cooperative play in which children play together by creating dramas or taking turns. Until reading this section, I was unaware of how important playing is for children and how many different types of play there are.