Ask an Expert

Transcript

February 2007

Children's Play - More than Fun and Games

Jean Mendoza, Ph.D.

I have a 14-month-old toddler that has a Spanish-speaking father. Could you tell me some simple phrases or words in Spanish for me to speak to her?

This little girl and her family will probably appreciate your efforts to communicate with her in two languages! If you have other children in your care, they may begin to pick up some of these Spanish words, too.

Play times are ideal for using both Spanish and English. With the help of our Spanish translator, here are some phrases and words that people often use when toddlers are at play.

English	Spanish
Let’s play!	¡Vamos a jugar!
Roll the ball.	Haz rodar la pelota.
Throw the ball.	Tira la pelota.
Go down the slide.	Bájate por el tobogán.
Your turn.	Es tu turno.
My turn.	Es mi turno.
___’s turn	Es el turno de _____.
Let’s run.	Vamos a correr.
Let’s walk.	Vamos a caminar.
Let’s jump.	Vamos a dar saltos
What’s this?	¿Qué es esto?
Toy/ toys	Juguete / juguetes
Block/blocks	Bloque / bloques
Doll/dolls	Muñeca / muñecas
Car/cars	Coche / coches

It might also help to know some basic polite phrases such as:

English	Spanish
Hello!	¡Hola!
I’m glad to see you.	Me alegra verte.
Good-bye.	Hasta luego.
See you tomorrow.	Hasta mañana.
See you next week.	Nos vemos la semana que viene.
Time to change your diaper.	Ya es hora de cambiarte el pañal.
Lunch time.	Ya es hora del almuerzo.
Time for nap.	Ya es hora de la siesta.

Do you think adults (such as teachers or parents) need to be involved with young children in order for their play to be enriching?

Self-initiated play—when children choose the time, place, and type of play—can be essential for children’s overall development whether they are playing alone, with peers, or with adults.

Children usually enjoy being invited into play by parents and caregivers or teachers. In fact, playing with a child can be a very important way for adults to build a strong bond with him or her.

Of course, adults shouldn’t feel that a child should play only with them. Other positive roles for adults in young children’s play include (1) making sure children have safe spaces for both active and quiet play; (2) making a variety of interesting materials available for exploratory play, dramatic play, active play, and quiet, solitary play; (3) arranging times when children can play together; (4) commenting favorably about play that you have observed (“Looks like you’re having fun.” “Wow, that’s a tall block tower you made!”); (5) providing low-key supervision to be sure everyone is safe; and (6) taking care not to schedule life so tightly that children get little time for play.

Sometimes, teachers and caregivers find that one or more children in a group can use some help to play in ways that are constructive and don’t hurt anyone. For whatever reason, some children don’t seem to know how to play that way.

I know of two moms who noticed that children in one class (including their sons) had trouble playing at recess without hurting or scaring each other. So the two parents planned some Game Days for the class at a local park. Most of the class attended and learned competitive and cooperative rules for “Duck, Duck, Goose”; “Mother May I”; “Red Light, Green Light”; clapping games; and several kinds of tag. After that, there seemed to be more fun and less fighting during recess. It was hard to say whether that’s because the children knew more games or because they knew and liked each other better after playing together on Game Days. Still, if you see playground problems in pre-K or later, I think it can’t hurt to step in and do a little gentle tutoring in how to play games together.

In my experience, it can also be beneficial to show able-bodied children some ways to play with a child who has a disability. A child with motor problems may not be able to play tag, but he might be quite good at rolling a ball across the floor to a playmate. For some more ideas that can help you make sure everybody in an inclusion setting plays, check out the IEL tipsheet, “Games for All Young Children”. One of the sweetest memories from my years of teaching is of watching two girls bounce a ball back and forth across a line in our gym. Leah (let’s call her) was a typically developing almost-5-year-old, and Allison had motor and cognitive challenges. For 10 minutes or more, they carefully, quietly, joyfully bounced that ball to each other. It was the first time we had seen Allison in sustained play with any peer. We learned later that Leah had wondered aloud at home how she might get Allison to play with her. She and her mom came up with some possibilities, and playing bounce-and-catch was one of them.

If a child has no older siblings, parents might want to occasionally show a child how to play certain games that are typically part of childhood in our culture, such as Tag or Catch or Go Fish or simple board games. That way, when the child is around peers, he can initiate a game or be ready to play along when a peer says, “Let’s play tag!”

Use caution when intervening in children’s play, though. People who study play have found a key activity that occurs when children are playing together. It’s called “cooperative legislation”—children negotiating rules with each other as they play. If adults jump in too soon to stave off conflict or show how to “play right,” children lose the chance to learn how to work things out together.

Related information:

• Games for All Young Children
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/tipsheets/games.htm

Are there differences between the kind of play that children engage in at school and at home?

Yes, children’s play can vary quite a bit from setting to setting. What’s allowed at home might not be okay in child care or preschool, and vice versa. Different play spaces, different schedules and routines, different play materials (toys, games, “stuff”), and different peers can all affect play.

For example, when a child is at school or in out-of-home care, she is likely to have more potential playmates than at home. The possibilities are there for active, large-group games and pretend play with lots of participants. But more peers can mean less space for her to play alone and more need for turn-taking, negotiation, and other kinds of social interaction than she may have at home. If she’s used to playing alone or working things out with one or two siblings, she may find it challenging to play in a space with lots of peers.

Also, when a child is new to a school or child care setting, you might see him watching others while he seems to be playing alone. Some people call this “onlooker play.” In busy classrooms, a caregiver might mistakenly think that child has no interest in what others are doing. But he is actually keeping an eye on what’s going on around him. It’s a strategy that can help a child learn “how the kids play here”—how they treat each other, what they like to play, etc. At home or in a familiar setting, the child wouldn’t feel a need to do that.

In what ways do electronic media such as computers and video games enhance or interfere with young children’s play?

Generations of human beings got through childhood and had productive lives—and sometimes did remarkable things—with no electronic play whatsoever. I like to keep that in mind during sales pitches for the latest “kid-friendly” software or electronic interactive thingamabob.

Lilian Katz often suggests that in any planning we do for a classroom, an important question to consider is, “What do I hope the children will gain from this?” When deciding whether or not to equip a classroom or home with electronic media geared toward young children, it’s essential to keep your goals firmly in mind.

Do you feel that the children need physical activity? Most electronic play will not meet that goal. The few electronic games that involve active play usually have a special floor mat (one per player). Directions appear on a TV screen telling the player what to do. Electronic exercise and dance games can give a good workout. They can be more fun than plain calisthenics. But are they intrinsically better, more engaging, or less expensive than (for example) playing a Hap Palmer CD to a class while the children stand up, sit down, spin, run in place, “shake something”, etc.? Probably not.

If one of your goals is to encourage lots of face-to-face interactions throughout the day, electronic games are not likely to fit that purpose. People who have studied children’s electronic play often notice the children’s solitary play (a child playing alone at a computer, console, or with a hand-held device), parallel play (two children playing at side-by-side computers or with hand-helds), and a kind of interaction that resembles “back seat driving.” In a classroom with computer games, it’s not unusual to see a cluster of children standing or sitting behind a child who is playing a game. It’s a bit like watching sports on TV, except that watchers and players sometimes talk directly to each other, exchanging advice and comments. “Good! You got it!” “Oh, too bad.” Since electronic play is about keeping eyes on the screen, a player who looks away to carry on a conversation will not do well in a game.

Some children (even the very young) who find peer interaction challenging may turn to electronic play instead. In my experience, such a child might play math games on the computer for as long as possible, seldom if ever talking with other children. In that situation, the teacher might be glad that the child is honing some academic skills but concerned that he may use “screen time” to avoid the work of building friendships.

If one of your goals is to have children solve problems cooperatively, electronic play does seem to offer a few opportunities there. Spectators and players may have brief exchanges focused on how to play the game better: “What do I do now?” “Go down, then over.” “No, not that way!” Most experienced teachers and caregivers see cooperative problem solving in many other types of play, as well, so there is no need to depend on electronic play to facilitate cooperation.

Most teachers and parents hope that preschool-age children will gain skills that will help them later on with schoolwork. A number of computer games for young children focus on skills and knowledge in math, literacy, foreign languages, or on some types of problem solving (map reading, for example). Many children enjoy these games and seem to learn from them. It’s a good idea for adults to find constructive ways to connect what children might learn during electronic play to other things in the world that are worth knowing about. Computerized and electronic learning games are often fun for children but have limitations. They cannot substitute for a number of classroom activities that we know will help children meet Illinois Early Learning Standards. Playing with measurement tools; acting out stories they have heard with friends; figuring out with a friend how to keep a toy car rolling at the bottom of a ramp—these are just a few examples of non-electronic play with tremendous value for helping children gain key skills and knowledge.

I will be adding a room just for a day care playroom in my house. I'm caught at a fork in the road right now as to what to have in the playroom. I want to stay with birth to 4-year-old children. I am having "insecurities" in dealing with parents...parents want their "babies" to learn sign language, French, Spanish, etc., but if I say we “play” and learn, they look at me funny and think their money is going for me to play all day. What toys would you say are essential to have in my new playroom?

What would you tell parents?

What age would you say I should start teaching 1-2-3s/ABCs/shapes, and other languages?

Let’s look at your second question first—things to say to parents who may doubt the merits of your “play-based” child care. Many early childhood caregivers and teachers face this challenge, and it’s easy these days to feel insecure about what we offer children, in the face of intensive advertising and other forms of pressure to have children gain skills and knowledge very early. We know that play matters in big ways, but how do we convince parents and others who don’t see play for the complex and necessary part of life that it is? Here are a couple of suggestions that have worked for some people in similar situations.

Some parents might be convinced of the value of play when they find out what the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) says about it. You can take a look at their press release “New AAP Report Stresses Play for Healthy Development.” The full 10-page report is titled “The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds” (PDF). Parents might be especially interested in the idea that play can maintain strong relationships with their children!

Do you think that the parents in your program might not have time to read the AAP report, or will be put off by the reading level? If so, you might consider discussing small sections of the report in your newsletter to families, in quick-to-read language. You can tie it to examples of children’s play in your program.

Some teachers use their newsletters to share information with parents, to give an idea of how complex play can be. Parents may not know that there are people who think play is so important that they study it, write about it, and even argue about different aspects of it! For example, a newsletter might describe a couple of types of play that Mildred Parten identified in her research, and ask readers (parents), “Have you seen your child in solitary play at home?” Or a newsletter article might focus on the types of play teachers often see at school.

Another strategy is to show parents some ways that your child care activities, including play, address the state standards and benchmarks for preschool-age children. The Illinois Early Learning Standards and Benchmarks are online. Spend some time thinking carefully about some specific benchmarks and what goes on in your program that could be related to each one. For example, playing a group game like “Duck Duck Goose” helps preschoolers meet social-emotional benchmarks 32.A.ECa (Begin to understand and follow rules) and 32.B.ECa (Engage in cooperative group play). When several children work together to build a block tower, with lots of conversation about it, they could be meeting language arts benchmarks such as 4.B.EC (Communicate needs, ideas, and thoughts) and 5.C.EC (Communicate information with others.)

A related strategy is to tell parents when a child has done something that shows he or she is “working on” or “working toward” a benchmark. Let’s say that for the first time ever, Josh says, “I don’t like that!” instead of hitting a child who bumps into him while playing tag. When you tell his parents, you could point out that while Josh was playing tag, you noticed that he is making progress on benchmark 24.A.ECb (Use socially acceptable ways to resolve conflict).

You might also show parents photographs of the children at play throughout the day. That enables you to point out how specific benchmarks are being met. Show Linda’s dad a photo of his daughter holding a book open, telling a story to two dolls during dramatic play time—there’s evidence that she can meet benchmark 1.A.ECa (Understand that pictures and symbols have meaning and that print carries a message.).

To support what you tell parents about the standards and benchmarks, you might point them to a short article for parents about the standards.

Now—how to stock your playroom? For the birth to 4-year-old age group, there’s a huge range of possibilities. Of course, for infants and toddlers, there should be no small parts that can fit in the mouth and pose a choking hazard. For all children, everything should be easy to clean and sanitize and be made of nontoxic materials. And of course, for any age, some play materials call for closer supervision than others.

Here are some playroom “basics” for any age. These are flexible play materials that lend themselves to creativity and can keep children engaged in complex play. There is no need for elaborate play kitchens, doll houses, toy railroads, etc., if your budget is limited:

• Balls—foam, solid, hollow, textured.
• Other things that roll—cylinders, wheel toys, etc.
• Block sets—unit blocks, large wooden blocks, cardboard “brick” blocks, foam blocks, interlocking plastic blocks too big for babies’ mouths.
• Puppets.
• Dolls and doll clothes—baby, child, and family dolls. (Fashion dolls and soldier figures are NOT necessary.)
• Beautiful washable fabrics of various types and sizes—for peek-a-boo and hide-and-seek, doll blankets, tents, shawls, etc.
• Plastic miniature animals—realistically made ones, rather than the fluorescent kind.
• Containers (boxes, buckets, etc.)—not just for storage but to use during play.
• Sets of things for children to stack, sort, etc.
• Play telephone.
• Soundmakers—age-appropriate of course—rattles, play keys, rhythm sticks, tone blocks, kalimba, etc.
• Transportation toys—to push, pull, or ride on. Those die-cast models are popular with preschoolers but have too many small parts to be safe for babies and toddlers.
• Nonbreakable play dishes and kitchen accessories.

These items do NOT have to be in the bright “stimulating” colors so often seen in toy stores and catalogs for children. The more that Americans learn about the Reggio Emilia schools in Italy, the more we see how positively children respond to more natural colors and materials.

Preschool-age visitors to your playroom may also enjoy the following materials:

• Simple board games—Candyland, Hi Ho Cherrio, checkers, Connect 4.
• Target games—beanbag toss, bowling-type games, etc.
• Playing cards for games such as Memory and Go Fish.
• Writing/drawing materials for making signs, menus, money, tickets, etc., to go along with dramatic play.
• Nontoxic doughs and clay

Once you have purchased basic playroom items, you’ll be able to branch out. And what the children do with the things you provide can guide your future purchases. If they spend hours throughout the week building ramps out of blocks so cars and balls can roll down, you might consider purchasing more wedges and inclines for the block collection.

Keep in mind that water is a wonderful play material. Whether you invest in a water table or just put water into bins on the floor, you’ll find that water lends itself to exploratory play that is good for cognitive development and to social play focused on cooking or washing things. Parents and caregivers often find that water play calms children. Water might not be practical in your playroom, but children will enjoy it if you can manage. The same is true of sand—and there are some interesting sand products available commercially that are less abrasive than the stuff we’re used to!

You might notice that there’s no mention of electronic and battery-operated toys or computer games. Those are quite popular now, but (despite what advertising may claim) other play materials are just as good at encouraging the kinds of children’s play that promotes curiosity, exploration, and creativity. You can stock a fun and cognitively stimulating playroom with no electronics whatsoever. Most electronic toys probably won’t harm children, though the noises they make can certainly irritate the adult ear! The problem is that most of them have limited uses in the kind of creative play that keeps children deeply engaged. I talk more about computer games in answer to a different question that came in.

Finally, you asked when to start teaching children ABCs, 1-2-3s, shapes, and foreign languages. I’m going to tie that question to our topic by saying that fingerplays and games are great for starting to bring that information to babies, toddlers, and preschoolers. Many fingerplays involve counting forward or backward. Action games such as Alice the Camel and One Little Bird reinforce counting and concepts of quantity. Preschool-age children enjoy figuring out how to bend their own bodies into the shapes of letters or circles, triangles, etc. They also enjoy lotto, bingo, and memory games featuring letters, colors, shapes, etc. Those are good ways to have fun while using that information. You can also be alert for times when a preschooler wants your help to make pretend money, road signs, etc., as part of pretend play.

You can bring languages other than English into children’s play in a couple of ways. A simple one would be to play CDs of songs in other languages as background music during children’s play time. Another would be to learn some game rituals in other languages. For example, maybe you could teach children to play “Duck Duck Goose” using Spanish words, or perhaps someone could teach you a game from another country that uses words from that language.

Related information:

• New AAP Report Stresses Play for Healthy Development
  http://www.aap.org/pressroom/play-public.htm
• The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds
  http://www.aap.org/pressroom/playFINAL.pdf
• The Illinois Early Learning Standards and Benchmarks
  http://illinoisearlylearning.org/standards/index.htm

What activities can I do to help my baby that was born prematurely (only 6 months), once I can take him back home?

Right at first, a lot will depend on how long your baby spends being calm and alert at the same time. (I was surprised by how much my first “early bird” slept. But then his brother, also preterm, spent a surprising amount of time awake and unhappy.) Your baby probably will not be ready right away for the kinds of play that a full-term baby likes. You may have a few moments to sway with him to some cheerful, quiet music between naptime and feeding, or to make funny faces with him before he gets tired.

Specialists all seem to agree that with premature babies, gentle play is key. You might hold both his hands and slowly bring them together a few times while you sing to him. Hold him snugly and very gently bounce yourself up and down. If he makes eye contact with you and makes a funny face, make the same face back to him. Try nuzzling his chin or neck while saying his name, or rubbing his tummy while singing to him. Help him touch toys that have different textures. If you talk to him in a quiet, cheerful tone during these encounters, he will learn to associate your special tone with being playful.

Before your baby comes home from the hospital, ask to talk with a physical therapist or occupational therapist about ways you can play with him at home. I suggest that you also ask the hospital staff to refer you to a support group for parents of premature babies. Often, other parents who have been through a similar situation have excellent advice about play and other things you’ll want to know. If there’s a BabyTALK program in your Illinois community, that’s one place to meet parents and specialists who can help you think of ways to have fun with your little one. Parents As Teachers, or PAT, may also be in your area, and many parents find them to be a great resource.

You will find out through trial and error which activities your baby tolerates or likes, which ones result in fussing, and which ones make him fuss at first and smile later. And the amount of time he is awake and calm will gradually increase as he continues to develop. Then there will be more time for play!

Related Information:

• BabyTALK
  http://www.babytalk.org/
• Parents As Teachers (PAT)
  http://www.parentsasteachers.org/ site/pp.asp?c=ekIRLcMZJxE&b=272091

How often should 2- or 3-year-old children be channeled into an educational predetermined activity as opposed to just allowing them to play and discover?

Two- and 3-year-olds often “vote with their feet” when we try to channel them into any activity. Either they’re with us in body and spirit, or they’re not. No matter how much or how often an adult may want them to sit and learn their letters, shapes, and numbers (for example), if it’s not the children’s agenda of the moment, the adult is in for some frustration. Then too, even if the children can be persuaded or forced to comply, there’s a risk that they will soon start to see academic tasks as unpleasant—and nobody benefits from that, in the long run. (You might be interested in what Lilian Katz has said about the distinction between academic goals and intellectual goals in the early childhood curriculum.)

It’s important to keep in mind that the kind of discovery you mention is educational, though it may not seem like a direct route to academic skills. Instead, it fosters the child’s cognitive development. It helps him figure out what’s going on in his environment and what he is able to do. During discovery play, children essentially are investigators: “What happens when I let go of this ball?” “How can I make a loud noise with these pans?” “Wow, I sure did splash the water! I bet I can do it again.” They might not be saying those things aloud, but an observer can almost hear them. Children are wired to be engaged by acting upon the things around them—and they are motivated from within to do so. It’s hard to imagine a predetermined activity, no matter how educational from the adult perspective, that will be as intriguing and challenging to a child as the things he can do with the interesting (safe) stuff you let him play with. If the predetermined activity you mention looks and feels like play, he’s much more likely to go along with it. But you might want to consider what the activity is supposed to accomplish, and see if there’s another, more naturally playful way for the child to practice the skill or learn the information.

Related Information:

• Curriculum Disputes in Early Childhood Education by Lilian G. Katz
  http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/eecearchive/digests/1999/katz99b.html

What suggestions do you have to encourage parents who are uncomfortable or unsure of how to play with their child? Are there any resources you could suggest to help parents "learn" how to get involved with their child's play, and what to play?

It’s true that some adults play easily with their children and others do not. The reasons for that are probably as varied as the people involved. Some parents simply might not remember what they did in their play as children. They may just need a few reminders of ways to play. A parent might also believe that adults should not play at all. The family may be from a culture in which parent-child play doesn’t happen much. Those situations can be a bit more challenging.

Some books have been written that are full of ideas for parents about playing with their children. I can’t make any specific recommendations, but you can ask a librarian or search online to find some titles. Use what makes the most sense to you, for the parents involved.

With the uncomfortable or uncertain parent, it sometimes helps to make very clear suggestions and to suggest a goal for play sessions. For example, you might say something like, “We’ve seen Kayla roll the ball and chase it. She laughs and laughs. She might like to play a rolling game with you. Maybe she can sit on the floor across from you. You can say, ‘Kayla, get the ball!’ and roll it to her. When she gets the ball, tell her to roll it back to you, and see if she does it. Then keep rolling it to each other until she gets tired of it.”

You might also suggest that the parent start out with parallel play. “When you see Jamar building with blocks, you can sit near him and start building your own tower. See if he starts talking to you about building. Maybe later he’ll want to build with you.”

You don’t mention the age of the child involved, so here are some other general ideas that can fit just about any age. Parents can start by initiating one or two of the most basic types of play, such as

• peek-a-boo or other hiding-and-finding games
• chasing games such as tag
• play that involves passing a ball or other object back and forth
• putting on something unusual, like a large hat or funny pair of glasses
• parallel play, in which parent and child play next to each other without a lot of direct interaction (blocks or modeling dough are good materials for this)
• fingerplays (like Itsy Bitsy Spider) or action games (like Alice the Camel)

You might also try modeling child-adult play when the parent can watch you. Or send home simple instructions for play times in your newsletter. For example, “This week the children learned a new clapping game. Your child might want to play it with you. Here’s how it goes.”

In some programs, a parent coordinator will put together bags of several related play items to lend to families. The bags include brief instructions. Often the items will be related to a theme, such as animals, transportation, or building.

Finally, it’s important to keep in mind that some parents had difficult or traumatic times that kept them from playing during childhood. They may find it very difficult—even painful—to play with their children. Other problems may show up, too. There is a type of therapy, called filial therapy, which has been helpful to families in that situation. You might want to find out if accredited therapists in your area are doing filial therapy. Perhaps a filial therapist would talk with you about appropriate ways for a teacher or caregiver to encourage parent-child play when a family has trouble.

What sort of games do children ages 3-5 usually play?

Children may play a wide variety of games between the ages of 3 and 5. Many of the games involve pretending to be someone or something else. You often hear preschool-age children saying things like, “Play like I’m the mom. You be the baby, and this stuffed animal can be the dog.” Or “Pretend we’re building a castle.” Such games don’t have formal rules, but the players often work out their own ground rules.

Preschoolers also learn traditional childhood games that require some rules: fingerplays, clapping games, circle games such as “A-Tisket A-Tasket,” verbal command games such as “Mother May I” or “Simon Says,” target games such as beanbag toss or pendulum bowling, and large-group active games such as racing, tag, or hide-and-seek. When preschoolers learn to play games such as tag, they might not play strictly by the rules the way we adults define “rules.” They may change the rules as they go along or talk with each other—sometimes loudly—to work things out.

Young children also enjoy “choosing” games such as “One Potato, Two Potato” or “Engine, Engine Number 9.” Guessing games are also popular—“I Spy” is one.

Preschool-age children may also enjoy table games and card games. These games often involve social skills such as taking turns and asking or answering questions. Such games may be based on luck, on strategy, or on a combination of skill and luck. They may involve counting, matching, sorting, or other math skills.

It can be difficult for 3-year-olds to enjoy a table game or card game for more than a few minutes. Bingo, lotto, and concentration or “memory” games are a few of the games that 3-year-olds and young 4-year-olds may enjoy. “Go Fish” and card games that involve “making families” by matching similar cards are also popular among preschoolers. The key to an enjoyable game is to limit the number of cards or options so the game doesn’t overwhelm the child. Also, adults who are playing with the child may need to let go of the idea of “completing” a game before a young child takes off to play something else.

Popular board games for preschool-age children include Candyland, Chutes and Ladders, and other simple games that use pathways. For other examples of table games to adapt for preschoolers, see an article by Dr. Rheta DeVries on commercial physical knowledge games (PDF). You can also find more details about young children’s group games (PDF) in another article by Dr. DeVries (PDF). A description of pendulum games (PDF) is available. The book Group Games in Early Education (C. Kamii and R. DeVries, 1980) includes a number of games appropriate for young children, with descriptions of how children sometimes play those games in early childhood programs.

Related Information:

• Regents' Center for Early Developmental Education Classroom Activities
  http://www.uni.edu/coe/regentsctr/classroom_activities.html

I work at a child care center with infants and toddlers (6 weeks old to 2 years old). I often care for the infants, and I want to know what kind of exercises I could do with a 6-month-old to help build up his muscles. This child doesn't hold toys or even reach for them. He doesn't roll over, sit up, etc. Can you give me some advice? Thank you!

It sounds like you suspect some delay in this 6-month-old boy’s physical skills. If you’re wondering whether his development is typical, you could take a look at what the American Academy of Pediatrics says about babies’ typical growth and development at different ages. Many 6-month-olds can roll over from tummy to back or from back to tummy. When they’re on their tummies, many babies at that age put out their hands and start trying to support their upper bodies. Caregivers can encourage the baby to keep doing this if they place a toy near the baby. The baby will try to hold that position to get a better look.

I hesitate to suggest specific exercises for a child without knowing more about what he does and doesn’t do. For example, does he show interest in people or objects around him, even if he doesn’t reach for them? What does he do when you put a rattle or toy in his hand? What does the baby do during tummy time? Can he hold his head up while on his tummy? When you hold him upright on your lap, does he seem able to bear part of his own weight on his legs? While he’s lying down, what does he do when you hold his feet and gently move his legs in a walking or running motion? What does he do when you hold his hands and gently move them in a clapping motion? Does he make sounds and try to communicate? Are his parents concerned about his development?

If you have concerns about this child's development, you might explain them to your director, using some of the questions in the previous paragraph as a guide. The director will want to know (if he or she isn't already aware) that there may be some developmental issues for the baby. The parents might or might not welcome a referral to a professional, but the director will want to follow your program's procedures in doing that. If you still have questions, or if parents are reluctant to give permission, it's all right for you to ask a developmental services consultant or health care provider about what you are seeing ONLY if you do not use names or any other identifying information about the child or family.

Encouraging babies’ physical movement skills is important because babies need those skills for sensorimotor play. Sensorimotor play is an important way that babies explore the world around them. From week to week and month to month, you can usually see a baby getting better at controlling her movements to suit her purposes. The National Association for Sport and Physical Education has created guidelines for infants’ physical activities. They say that all babies and toddlers—at home or in child care—can benefit from some planned physical activities every day.

Related Information:

• American Academy of Pediatrics says about babies’ typical growth and development at different ages
  http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/stages.cfm#early
• The National Association for Sport and Physical Education has created guidelines for infants’ physical activities
  http://www.aahperd.org/naspe/template.cfm?template=toddlers.html

My 4-year-old daughter makes rows and patterns of objects while she’s playing. She uses anything she finds around, and if there is more than one thing, she puts them in order according to something they have in common, such as the shape or color. Then she takes everything apart and redoes the whole thing. Could you give explain this?

It would be interesting to know what your daughter says about her constructions! Your daughter is applying logical-mathematical thinking to the choices she makes when she creates the patterns (organizing them by shape, etc.). It’s as if she is creating her own puzzles! If she has not already tried jigsaw puzzles, you might want to introduce puzzles with fewer than 24 pieces and see if she likes those, too. She may even be ready for more complicated puzzles.

Sometimes children play the way you have described because they want or need to create order. They find it pleasing or comforting to be able to “pull things together” and make patterns. It’s similar to the sense of well-being that some adults get from rearranging furniture or cleaning the kitchen.

Your daughter may also have a strong aesthetic sense. She may feel that her rows and patterns are beautiful or “cool”; maybe for her they are a kind of sculpture or other 3-dimensional art form. If that’s true for your daughter, she might enjoy having you make sketches or take photographs of some of her creations. You could also see if she wants to try making “jewelry” using large wooden or clay beads. Creating necklaces and bracelets often appeals to children who find patterns aesthetically pleasing.

This activity is clearly motivated from within your child, and you don’t want to make her feel self-conscious or embarrassed about it. You could tell her (if you haven’t already done so) that you are interested in what she’s doing. You might ask her from time to time if it’s okay for you to watch her at work on her rows and patterns. You could even ask if you could join in the pattern-making play. Maybe she could make a pattern, then take it apart and let you try to rebuild it from memory. Many children like knowing that their parents are interested in their creations.

You have not said that you are worried about your daughter’s play behavior. Parents do sometimes feel concerned when a child plays only the same way over and over, with little variation. If a child never plays with other people (adults or peers) and is comfortable only when performing the same solitary activities repeatedly, that might be cause for concern. Parents also might worry if a child often becomes unusually distressed or desperate when someone interrupts his or her pattern making. (Many children will object when they have to stop playing, of course. I’m referring to extremes of anxiety or other “upset” behavior.)

If a child seems stuck in one play behavior and won’t or can’t branch out into other types of play, parents might want to tell a pediatrician or counselor what they are seeing. On the other hand, the type of play you have described can be emotionally satisfying and developmentally appropriate for a child and can lead to other constructive play experiences.

I have a 16-month-old little girl. My husband, the baby, and I live by ourselves, and the baby is with me most of the day. No other relatives live with us, since we’re the only ones in our families who live here in Tijuana. What activities can I do with my baby for her psychomotor development? She’s developing normally, but I would like some ideas for keeping her entertained.

A 16-month-old child can keep parents or caregivers very busy! But spending time with children that age can be a lot of fun because they enjoy exploring the world and communicating about it.

You probably want to encourage your daughter to be able to handle solitary play and social play. Solitary play allows children to entertain themselves (though of course someone is still keeping an eye on them). Social play with a parent, caregiver, or other children helps children prepare for life in the community.

Often, when children play alone, their activities involve fine motor coordination. During solitary play, your daughter might handle items such as animal figures, dolls, blocks, and so on. She might pick them up and carry them, place them carefully somewhere, drop them, hide them, etc. She may not be ready to build things yet, but she might really like taking things apart or knocking them over. All of those activities, even the ones that might not make sense to us as adults, can contribute to her development and help her understand the world around her.

It is interesting to see how children this age decide to play on their own! For example, one of my granddaughters, at about 16 months, could spend up to half an hour with her basket of board books. She would often turn the basket upside down so the books fell out, then sit on the mound of books, looking at the covers until she found one of her favorites. Then she would turn its pages for a few minutes, looking at the pictures. Then she would pick up another book and repeat the process. She did not like to be interrupted, even if someone offered to read to her. Having that pile of books seemed to be very important to her. If anyone put any books back in the basket before she was done, she would frown and dump the books out again. This “game” used large motor skills (dumping the basket and balancing to sit on the books), fine motor skills (turning pages), and eye-hand coordination. It was also a good preliteracy activity. (Board books are a great invention: sturdy enough for toddlers who treat them as toys that simply happen to feature pictures and words.)

When you are indoors, you and your daughter might enjoy creative movement activities. Play some appealing music and dance with her, or wave pretty scarves in the air together. March around as if you are in a parade, or pretend to be animals, cars, or other things that interest her. Let her “help” around the house with a whisk broom and small dustpan, or with clean dust rags. All of these activities promote her motor development and help her see that she is capable of doing many things. For her fine motor development and eye-hand coordination, you might also teach your daughter some fingerplays and clapping games. Such activities are also good for her social development. It may take her many, many repetitions to learn how to make all the movements herself, but she will probably enjoy the challenge. Finger puppets and puzzles with a few large pieces are also good for toddlers’ fine motor activity. You may need to show her how to place the puzzle pieces or play with the puppets, and again, it may take her awhile to do those things herself.

As weather and safety permit, your daughter is likely to benefit from active, outdoor play. If you have access to outdoor equipment such as toddler-size climbers, slides, and swings, she will probably enjoy hours of well-supervised large motor play with you there. Most toddlers like playing with balls or beanbags that they can drop, throw, or push. Parks and playgrounds are great for “play dates” with families who have children of similar ages, too. You might want to find other families with children who are close in age to your daughter and arrange to meet them at the playground. It’s good for toddlers to be around other children, even if they don’t always play directly with each other.

For more ideas about toys and activities for you and your little girl, you might take a look at the question answered earlier about toys and games for a playroom.

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