Most parents want their child to grow up confident, able to handle everyday challenges, and comfortable getting on well with others. So what does that have to do with play? Everything, really. Play is exactly how children build the skills we hope they’ll carry into later life. Here are 5 reasons why play is important for children.
Don’t miss our best content straight to your inbox! Sign up now and get our FREE newsletters packed with fun ideas and things to do with the kids, family-friendly recipes, expert advice, parenting tips and great competitions.
While we all know what play is, it can be hard to pin down. The term covers a huge range of activities, freely chosen and enjoyed by a child.
Play can be loud, rowdy and energetic, or quiet, relaxed and reflective. It can be light-hearted or focused and serious; planned and structured or free-flowing and inventive. Either way, play is a vital part of every child’s life and is essential to their development.
Play is how children explore and make sense of the world around them, and how they pick up the skills they need to live in it. The most beneficial play is the kind a child chooses for themselves — it’s during free play that most learning takes place. Here are just five of the many reasons why play matters so much.
Why Play is Important
#1. Learning about the World
Children learn about the world around them through play. Babies figure out how to pick up, turn and interact with all sorts of objects through play.
Toddlers act out real life and fantasy through role play as a way of understanding the world they live in and the things they experience every day.
Children learn to understand the space around them through play, developing spatial awareness and picking up new skills just by running, jumping and skipping. Play also teaches children how to deal with the realities of setbacks and disappointments.
#2. Developing the Ability to Assess Risk
Play allows children to consider problems and work out solutions. By testing their own abilities, children learn to take a risk and try something new, as well as figuring out different ways of doing things.
Allowing children to be adventurous in their play matters. Taking risks and doing something that feels a little “scary” lets a child test their own boundaries.
During play, children are in charge, instinctively making hundreds of decisions as they weigh up and choose the levels of risk they’re comfortable with — physically, emotionally and socially.
In this way, they build up their skills and their bank of experience, becoming better equipped to stay safe in the real world. That might mean a few grazed elbows and knees along the way, but there’s no better way to learn what not to do next time.
#3. Developing Social Skills
Playing alone fosters independent thinking and problem-solving, while group play encourages cooperation and understanding. Playing with other children helps a child develop a sense of their place within a group.
Taking turns to use a slide is an important part of learning to interact well with others and to care about others. Group play also builds the ability to cooperate and function as part of a team.
Planning activities and assigning roles in games mirrors, in many ways, the real world of family and work life. Learning to share and to consider the abilities of others is another important life skill acquired through play.
You May Also Enjoy 30 Life Skills Every Kid Should Learn
#4. Physical Development
Play is an essential part of a child’s physical development. A child is continually learning through play, and this supports the growth and maturation of their brain and body, building the ability to concentrate and “learning how to learn”.
Physical development includes acquiring balance and coordination, gross and fine motor skills, as well as strength and muscle.
Toddlers develop their gross motor skills through play, which are then refined as they grow older. Some research even suggests that activities like tennis can help improve children’s handwriting, thanks to the fine motor control involved.
Painting and drawing can help develop fine manipulative skills because of the nature of the movement involved.
Physical strength is also built through play — climbing trees is an excellent way to develop upper body strength, while jumping helps build bone strength. Even lifting, carrying, stretching and balancing develop muscular strength and flexibility.
Gentler play builds dexterity and flexibility, while spinning stimulates the development of a child’s vestibular (inner ear balance) system.
#5. Building Confidence
As children develop new skills through play — whether that’s learning to use scissors or reaching the top of a climbing wall — their confidence grows with every new achievement.
In this way, children come to understand that they can do more and try new things, and they build the confidence to keep exploring.
Play gives a child a sense of being in control and being able to take charge — even if that just means commanding an army of toy soldiers or hosting a doll’s tea party!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is play so important for a child’s development?
Play gives children a safe, self-directed way to build the skills they need for life — from understanding the world around them and managing risk, to developing social skills, physical strength and confidence. Because children choose and lead their own play, it’s one of the most natural and effective ways they learn.
What skills do children learn through play?
Through play, children develop spatial awareness, problem-solving and decision-making skills, social skills like sharing and cooperation, physical skills such as balance and coordination, and emotional skills like resilience and self-confidence.
How does play help with social development?
Playing with others teaches children how to take turns, share, cooperate and understand their place within a group. Group play, in particular, mirrors real-life teamwork and helps children build the ability to get on well with others.
Does unstructured or free play matter more than organised activities?
Both have their place, but free play — the kind a child chooses and directs themselves — is where most learning happens, because children are actively testing ideas, taking risks and making their own decisions rather than following instructions.
You Might Also Like
- Why Letting Your Child Take a Risk May Actually Be Good for Them
- 30 Life Skills Every Kid Should Learn
- Fun Outdoor Activities to Get Kids Moving
Don’t Miss Out on More Parenting Tips
Enjoyed this? There’s plenty more where that came from. Browse our site for more ideas on play, learning and family life, or sign up to our newsletter for weekly inspiration delivered straight to your inbox.
Over to you now — what are your thoughts on why play is important for children? Share them with us in the comments below.
