32 Types of Play

Shantha Maria B. V

Introduction

Children are found playing in all situations of serious environment. It could be in hot sun or in even just before examination, this is the characteristic difference between a child and an adult. The adult word always wants to productive output that can be quantifiable. But I as a believer of all value of play I advocate adults to look at life from the attitude of play. That is to be curious of new things, the urge to explore, to accept change, ability to repeat till one master, to motivate the non attempters, to take risk in exploring, will add zest to life.

Montessori and Frobel have said that work is play. The responsibility of the adult is nurture play and to use play to work with children. To understand types of play is the aim of this module.

In the previous module, 1 you have you have understood the theories of play and advantages of play.

In this module let us focus on the types of play. Play is classified differently based on the context of use. It could be a physiotherapist, a child develop mentalist, early childhood educator, athletic trainer or paediatrician. Let us broadly look at it from the point of early child education.

The Classification is as below is based on ECE child in mind.

1)  Solitary play

2)  Parallel play

3)  Passive play

4)  Associative play

5)  Constructive play or Manipulative play

6)  Motor play

7)  Fantasy play or Dramatic play

8)  Co operative

9)  Adventure or Exploratory play or risk-taking play

10)  Creative Play

11)  Sensory play

15) Language play

16)  Games with electronic gad jets.

17)  Traditional games

18)  Competitive Play

1)  Solitary play– All of us have seen infants sitting with something that fascinates their attention and continue to play independently. This is most common in infancy. Let’s look at ankitha who is using a tumbler and a spoon and is constantly starring, is very happy when the stirring act makes noise repeats this and is happy engaged for at least 20 to 30 minutes at a time. Her mother most often uses this as activity to keep her happily engaged.

• Little preathum an infant is also involved in churning the egg beater in water. To some amusement it the churning act is done in medium of sope water he is fascinated seeing the lather.
• Solitary play can also be seen in later age groups but most predominant during infancy.

2) Parallel play

• When children are new at an early childhood education centre we can observe this kind of play children are playing alongside one another without interaction. This is observed in infancy it is common even in the later childhood years.
• Suma is at the sand pit she is playing par ally along with all the children but not interacting with them. She is busy poring sand as rain, while other children are busy building the sand castle using their own leg or hand.

3) Passive play

• in passive play the child is not actively involved, she/he is watching the other play, use of language, actions and the intelligent moves that one makes. Enjoys the play though not actively involved.
• Little raishi accompanies his brother viju for a foot ball game is a passive player as he cannot play, as he is very young for the game he is enjoying by observing, at the same time is learning the new game.
• Most of our adults enjoy the game of cricket by being passive players than actual players.

4)  Associative play

• this kind of play is most common in children of more than 3 years of age, they are found playing in the same environment , share toys but do not inter act.
• Children could be playing in the sand pit area could share the moulds that they have but do not inter act.
•  In the block area when each of them is having a set of blocks, they are building independently, one may offer one’s block to complete the others work while the other may receive without a thanking gesture.

5) Constructive play or Manipulative play

•  Children are most often involved in constructing using a blocks, they could be small or big blocks, or even using material in nature. This is not a repetitive play but a new creative idea may evolve at every step.
•  This has taken different dimensions with toy industry where age specific building toys are available.

With clear instruction guidance manual. These are also topic specific it could be railway station, super market the child is expected to create a complete picture based on the expected guideline.

Constructive play may evolve out of curiosity when some material are provided for a child to inter act with at same time example small cube that perfectly fit in to a large block. The learning is the big block is made up of small blocks.

• Manipulative play is use material with confidence either to grip, tear, change form by either squeezing or rolling e.c.t. Children develop the skill of using the finer muscle which gives them a wide opportunity to play with clay, threading, cutting with scissors, tearing materials dressing which involves use of zips, buttons, laces and similar manipulative material provide ample opportunity for   manipulative play provide ample opportunity for this.

6)  Motor play

• Motor play could be grouped in two fine motor and gross motor. Fine motor those involving finer muscles or pincer grip, those involving large muscles.
•  Sorting beads could be a fine muscle activity while jumping/running/ swinging/ climbing are play involving large muscle.
• children’s play is a combination of both these types of play.
• a balance of both these is necessary. Play activities that involve sliding or climbing help children build confidence in one self which is very necessary in self perception later years.
• Play activities that involve finer muscle is a activity that will involve neuron- motor co ordination which will involve concentration that means it would help a child build attention span which is necessary for later year learning.

7) Fantasy play or Dramatic play

Children by the age of three years would have developed the ability to interact with one another, their imagination is also fairly good, in the dramatic play they enact the adult roles in their play, and it could be from being a fireman to a doctor or any role that has impressed them.

• A group of children being as small as 2 to a large group of 4 or five would enjoy playing games that interest them. bank/ hospital/ gas station/ firemen/ police station/
• Anything could be dramatised based on the environment in which simulates children.
• The group that is involved in this would have a clear idea of what roles they wish to take.
• If a preschooler plays doctor, a 5year old may be ready to enact a storey.
• In this all the participating players have observed and experience the adult world by enacting the roles. This gives them the picture of the adult and what is expected out of them in the roles they wish to play.
• This has immense value for socialisation skills required for later life.

8)  Co operative play

Let us imagine children playing in a sand pit. Both children are not familiar with one another. Both are building Casals. One is looking for some material it is supplied by the other even without asking. The acknowledgement nor the word thank you is not uttered by the child who receives.

• imagine suma and uma are playing using blocks and playing alongside. Suma is not able to balance the pillar. Uma spontaneously from her pile of blocks picks up one that suits to fix suma’s construction. Here one fails to utter the magic word ‘thanks’. What we understand from these two examples is that children continue to play at the same sight independently without envying each other. At the same time go out of their play domain to help the other child playing.
• co-operative play    gives one the security at play but strictly keeping to one’s own boundary.
• co operative play is to play parallel but to share material with one asking another in such a way that one does not even realise

9) Adventure or exploratory play or risk-taking play

Exploratory behaviour is an innate quality to human beings. This is more predominant in younger age. Adventure play is to explore an object for its functions, characteristics, to dismantle and to assemble. This type of play is because one is drawn to the object or intuitive thinking.

• It is found at all ages an infant or a school age child. A toddler may not know the effect of pulling down the table cove but shall not think of the consequences, but would attempt. If the attempt is successful gives him/her the confidence. If not may develop a diffident attitude. This is true at all ages. The adult need to be supportive, to encourage them of the exploratory behaviour, of the environment and objects that they interact with. The adult support will encourage them to attempt again or to overcome the negative experience.
• Little arun of 3 years was very scared of furry objects. Whenever he saw this in his environment he would exhibit hesitant behaviour and cling to his mother. A rational analysis showed that as a toddler when he went to pet a sleeping dog it had attacked him, this had caused fear in him. Timid behaviour to furry objects was this particular experience.
•   In older children this may take different form, to not to give up easily. Develop self confidence, and to aim at tougher skills, self confidence because of superior skills compared to others.
• Play area encourages children to take –risk at the same time there is protection ensured. This is at a little older age as beyond 4 years. It could be the slide which are difficult to climb or slide down but it is made friendly by providing railing on either side. The swing is fixed, with a thick sand bed or rubber flooring. Bicycle with balancing wheels, which will encourage; independent movement.

10) Creative Play

Creative play is where children achieve what they want from the materials around them than providing a toy that is ready. Example a toddler can be provide with a pull toy or wheal could be used to create a pull toy, the complexity could increase if is trying to run along the wheal keeping the wheel in motion all the time. Creative play encourages a child to imagine. Helps in developing, problem solving ability. In the present world there is less opportunity for creative play as market provides everything for play ready to use.

Example: bottle caps can be used to create wheels, ball pen refill to form the axel of the wheel.

Fabric pieces could be used to sew a garment for a toy.

11) Sensory play

Infants when they are in sensorial period the sense organs are very active any object that stimulates their senses is a play situation for toddlers, texture, colour , smell, sound are all interesting objects of play for the young. The market has used this knowledge and has come up with number of toys that that draws their attention.

Example: Soft toys that cry like animals. Toys when squeezed produce sound.

15) Language play:

• Language is an expression of child’s thinking process; new words learnt facilitate their expression.
• Rhymes, words, songs all become source of new words to be learnt and used. The rhythm when picked up lasts for days till such time a new one catches their interest.
• picture books, story books are good source to introduce words to children.
•  The adults in the child’s environment could be good source language game for children.

16) Games with electronic gad jets

Information technology has swept the market in a great way in the market. It attracts all age’s infant to an adolescent. Captivating the interest of all ages. It is available on mobile phone to a smart phone.

17) Traditional play

• Traditional play is those that are unique to each culture or geographical region. The local toys manufactured in that particular area may also influence play. Example kondapalli toys of Andra Pradesh Chenna pattana toys of Karnataka.
• Most of these use the locally available raw material and manufacture a toy which gives way to a unique play. The ‘alguli mane’ of Karnataka a toy that all played irrespective of age. The younger children picked up seeing the adults. This helped in bonding. Inter personal relation. The swift handling of seeds. Helping finer motor co ordination.

18) Competitive Play

Play brings in joy as one master the skill they wish to test their own ability. This test of one’s ability brings in competition. Children learn social transaction of sharing, co operating, and expressing emotions in a manner that is accepted by the play mates. Children begin to move away from ego centric stage gradually.

• Competition also helps a child to understand that in a game one can also lose. Every loss has to be comb acted with more of improved skill to win. It teaches one resilient ability. Competition may be very simple at younger age, but may get complex as children begin to grow older.
• the simple catch and throw a ball may become complex as shooting a ball in to a basket.
• cycling versus skating

Research Views on types of play

It is very interesting to understand the pedagogy of introduction to a toy, how it helps in learning. In an experiment conducted by MIT professor Laura Schulz, her graduate student Elizabeth Bonawitz, showed that if toys are introduced directly and if allowed to explore how children would behave. From their experiment it was learnt that those children who were introduced to it directly were less exploratory as than those who explored the toy without the adult. The implication to learning is that children used less of cognitive ability when all the information was given to them versus when allowed to explore. Direct teaching is not facilitating cognitive skills though it may show good results on state standardised tests.

Lillard and colleagues set out to review all the research they could find that looked at the relationship between pretend play and a range of early childhood outcomes (including cognitive and academic, as well as social outcomes; they did not find a sufficient number of studies in some areas, like emotion regulation)their review showed that pretend play, was viewed in three different ways , one they said that literature showed that pretend play carries greatest support to development ,pretend play contributes to outcomes. Second pretend play is not the only driving force for the out come there are other forces acting at the same time. Third, pretend play is not responsible for the development of other areas but other domains. But it is vice versa other domains influence the pretend play.

Judith Elaine Blakemore, found that the most surprising thing to parents: Moderately masculine toys encourage children’s physical, cognitive, academic, musical, and artistic skills more so than moderately feminine ones. This is contrary to the old thinking. Where it was, believed that masculine toys promote aggressive behaviour.

Judith Elaine Blakemore, gender-typed toys. Children at pre-school are in variably engaged with toys. It interesting to learn, the influence of toys on children. It was found that some of the toys have powerful influence on children’s thinking, interaction with peers, and creative expression. While, others do not. Toys that look most interesting to adults are not very impressive to the child and are not effective in promoting development. The findings are a guide line for adults with children that they need to observe if the toy is eliciting a balance of play behaviour s, across social, intellectual, and creative areas of development.

Summary

• Play is viewed with a differently by different user’s based on the end goal that one wishes to achieve.
• It could be educational or therapeutic. The play has been classified to different types to understand the clarity and it’s implication for growth and development.
• Play facilitates cognitive, language, physical and social emotional development.
• Research reveals that along with play other developmental forces also act, the achievement need not only be attributed to play.
• Adults in the Childs environment need to observe that a toy used in a play by the child has an equivalence in all domain of development.
• Play is work for children. It is also adult’s work to understand the role of play in the young children’s life.
• adult’s role is to utilize and foster play.

Web links

• img src=”http://b.scorecardresearch.com/p?c1=2&c2=6035600&cv=2.0&cj=1″/>
• “http://www.growingtreetoys.com/img/favicon.ico”>
• http://playingforkeeps.org/site/library_01.html
• www.childtrauma.org/ctamaterials/Curiosity.asp