What your toddler is learning through play
Your toddler is learning through play on a daily basis.
It’strue!
But while this is easy to say- what exactly are they learning?
Children investigate their environment through play, which means as they play, they learn about their world.
‘Learning through play is a term used in education and psychology to describehow a child can learn to make sense of the world around them. Through play children candevelop social and cognitive skills, mature emotionally, and gain theself-confidence required to engage in new experiences and environments.’(this quote is from Wikipedia, but actually describes itperfectly!)
What do people imagine when they hear someone say ‘I had a great childhood’?
It almost always includes memories of play!
Imaginative play, sports, running over the playground at school, building blocks, dress-ups, Mothers and Fathers (anyone else play that when they were kids? It’s a form of imaginative play too)
A childhood without play is a sadchildhood.
And the start of childhood…..istoddlerhood!
Yourtoddler is learning through play, how to be a child.
But what is your toddler actually learning through all this play?
They’rebuilding those crucial connections and understandings so they can continuebuilding on them as they grow.
Toddlersare little sponges. They seem off in their own little world sometimes, howeveryour toddler is NOT unaware of what is going on. In fact, they’re oftensuper-aware of what IS going on in their play.
Their ability to focus in their play obviously increases with age and development, but I challenge you to just sit back sometimes and really watch their focus on what they are engaged in.
Forinstance, have you ever watched a child build a tower?
Ilove watching kids build towers. The skills they learn through this type ofconstructive play are amazing!
Some are listed below:
- Puttingthe blocks on (if they’re Duplo or Lego, they might be on a base which requiresa bit of skill to even get them to stay there, but even standing a wooden blockon end requires some practice!)
- Stackingblocks on top
- Learningthat the base needs to be there first, and they learn to build it stronger
- Learningthat ‘next to’ makes it stronger too
- Learningthat it’s fun to knock down, of course!
Whenever your toddler is using his hands to do this type of construction play, he is learning and refining his fine motor skills.
This is essential to many daily activities, but also playing music as he gets older, riding a bike, using scissors (which is closer than you might think) and even using cutlery at the table.
As he is building the foundations of the block tower, he is literally building some useful foundations for his future learning!
Social benefits of learning throughplay
Learningthrough play is especially effective at building social understandings.
Here’show interacting with others is essential for toddlers:
- Play builds an awareness that the child is not the only person in ‘the story’
- Children learn how to take turns, ask for wanted items, etc (see this Youtube video for 'How to teach Toddlers to Share')
- Imaginative play (for instance dressing up as shopkeepers) provides an excellent space for children to practice what they see their parents do, and learn how to interact well with others.
- As they build this learning, they can start to form basic ‘friendships’ and begin to feel a sense of belonging in their kinder, daycare, etc. This is VERY important.
(Thislast one is important because a feeling of belonging is a basic human emotionalneed, which is well worth establishing with other peers as well as in a familyunit.)
What can we do tohelp our child learn through play?
1: Help them by nothelping them
(See this post on building independence in toddlers)
As my 15 month old Fletcher plays, I am conscious of not helping him unless he ‘asks’ me. (a look, or he comes and pulls on my leg)
If Ijump in and do too much for him, I could short-circuit his learning. (Mind you,of course I do this sometimes in our play-but not too much! Let’s have fun withour kids!)
2: Give helpful, specific praise and encouragement
Giving your child specific praise and encouragement is a wonderfully helpful tool in their learning. I could go on and on about this topic, but I’ll just say that as you observe your child playing, you can help them learn even more.
Say something like ‘Wow! I like how you put that block on the top! Can you try the blue one now? I wonder if it will work?’
Commentslike these can inspire a child to try harder, learn more and have a moreinquiring mind.
So if you have been wondering exactly how your toddler is learning through play, I hope this post has given you some insight!
Do youhave a toddler and want some ideas not just on play, but on
- Behaviour/tantrums
- Emotions and how you can teach your child about them
- Why you need a good structure and routine in your child’s day
- More ways to connect with your toddler consistently?