Many of the most basic lessons we learn in life are ones we pick up so early we may not even remember doing it. Concepts such as patience, sharing, knowing right from wrong, and the emotions attached to them are familiar to us once we reach adulthood, but we all had to learn what they were and how to express them at a young age.
Their surroundings and experiences greatly influence children. They tend to have a lot of energy, are often playful, and are also naturally curious. These traits can be beneficial when teaching children essential and lasting lessons, and something as seemingly basic as playing offers a great way to do so. Playing can be a tool in helping a child learn about tricky emotions they may not be so familiar with yet and offers healthy ways of expressing them. It's beneficial because a lot of the lessons they'll experience go hand-in-hand with each other.
Playing with others, for example, offers a range of scenarios that can be beneficial for emotional development. When a child is playing with a toy that someone else wants to use, they may feel upset or jealous when they're told to share and might feel impatient when waiting for their turn. However, through such an experience, they practice patience and learn that sharing can have positive outcomes such as instigating friendships. Other concepts such as kindness and fairness can also be practiced through interactions with other children, for example, on a playground where they crowd around the same outdoor toys.
Encouraging their imagination is another way in which playing can help children express emotions they might not yet know how to put into words. Pretending to be a character from a story or making a plot up themselves allows a child to use their imagination to channel the emotions they're experiencing, giving them an outlet.
Games that require energy are also a way for children to channel feelings; spending energy is an excellent way to unload both positive and negative emotions. In addition, setting up games for more than one child can be an excellent way to teach teamwork and all that goes with it, like selflessness and trust; you have to rely on each other, and whether you win together or you lose together, you share the same feeling with everyone else on your team.
A child may not immediately register that they're learning how to express a thought or understand an emotion themselves. Still, playing provides an outlet for what they're feeling without the need for words regardless and will expose children naturally to many thoughts and emotions. Once faced with these, they will also learn to process them. By encouraging playing, children can learn plenty of lessons that will be important as they grow, as there are many ways to teach children concepts that we make use of regularly.
Also Check: 6 Essential Elements For A Successful Playground
