It isn’t easy to overstate the importance of play in your child’s life. From the earliest years of someone’s life, they learn more through play and experience than they do in any other way. This is why so many education systems that are actually beneficial to children use play as the backbone of their curriculums. When a child is doing and playing instead of sitting and memorizing, they are increasing their IQs and becoming better global citizens.
If you want to encourage play that teaches them, a great way to do that is through MindFinity, which only requires a few minutes a day of different types of play. For more information on MindFinity, please click here. To see how else play helps your child, keep reading.
Play Promotes Critical Thinking Skills
When your child is playing alone or with other people, they are developing their critical thinking skills. They start to understand how things fit together and complement each other. As they play and pretend, they start to see how the world works and how they fit into it.
At the same time, it reinforces their memories and teaches cause and effect. Playing with dolls, cars, or other toys allows them to use their senses and imagination in safe ways. They create scenes in their minds and act them out, inspiring them to be creative. Just watch them playing with their toys and see what they come up with – it is quite something.
Play Has Physical Benefits
Play has physical benefits to children as well, including helping in the development of their fine and gross motor skills. The best play will have them running, jumping, dancing, riding bikes, climbing, and just using their bodies in new ways. They will learn how their bodies feel and build up stamina.
Remember to provide them with protection and structure – they need to know what trees they can climb and which ones won’t hold their weight. The more play that takes place outside, the better.
Play Encourages Social Skills
When your child plays with another person, particularly other children, they are developing key social skills that will benefit them for the rest of their lives. They start to understand social cues and expectations. In larger groups, they will learn compromise and how to work together.
While you may have to monitor your child and who they are playing with (especially if they are playing video games with people from across the world), encourage them to play with different types of kids.
Play Takes Many Different Forms
Not all kids are going to be rough and tumble kids who play tag until the sun goes down. Some kids are going to play video games, others are going to play with dolls. Play doesn’t have to look like one specific thing. It can look like a board game with family, building a craft set, or putting a puzzle together. Encourage play however you can while still pushing them to go beyond their comfort zone every now and again.
If your child is shy, you may need to encourage them to play with other kids. Sign them up for a group activity, if possible, or have them tag along with an older sibling.
Interested In Learning More About MindFinity?
Join Mindfinity today, and see how playing daily games will transform your child’s mind into that of a multi-talented polymath thinker. Your membership includes: unlimited access to the videos from Opher’s Toronto Parent Workshop where he teaches you the methodology, new games to play with your child released over time in the Accelerated Daily Games (Beta) Program, live online events, (membership to the private MindFinity Member Community on Facebook where you can share ideas, get help from certified trainers, and get inspiration from other super parents like you, discounts to upcoming live MindFinity events, and new levels of the MindFinity program as they come out.
