Play is important

For the use of all five senses for your child to learn about his/her body and the world around, play is absolutely crucial in social, emotional, physical and cognitive growth. Examples are, what would happen if I do this or that? Can I touch it, what does it feel like? Or what does this taste like? With adult supervision, do let your child explore. Remember that when your baby becomes a toddler, play will become more imaginative and complex!

Making the most of your child’s playtime, you may want to think that playtime is more than just being surrounded by toys. This can include activities with you or other children and even the simple peek-a-boo’s! And when your child has had enough, it is important to stop and take a break; otherwise, playtime will no longer be fun!

Depending on the stage of your child’s development, below is a list of different types of play. Let your toddler show you what he/she is interested in, it’s fun to see where he/she is at:

Early Symbolic PLAY. This is a very common type of play starting close to two years of age where the toddler will create something out of nothing. Examples include playing with a box as if it were a car complete with motor noises or even an empty bottle and pretending it to be a baby.

Functional and Representational PLAY. Just after children turn one, their imaginations begin to take a toll, so any familiar objects to them will be in use such as pushing the trolley at the grocery or anything (mainly habits) that you as a parent would do and your child wishes to imitate.

Object PLAY. This normally happens at an earlier stage in life when the child isn’t very vocal about things just yet. This includes touching, throwing and even pushing!

Role PLAY. The little actor or actress will play anything he/she wishes to be. Could either be a doctor or even pretend to be a mommy or a daddy. Expect the child to possibly try on your shoes, clothes, make-up or even use your mobile phone as extra prop, so do look out for that!

Social PLAY. Interaction with you and other children is the best way to develop your child’s social skills but we all know that, don’t we?